US Rejects Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Concerning Social Media Regulations
The US State Department stated it would deny visas to a group of five people, including a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "coerce" US-based online companies into suppressing opinions they disagree with.
"These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by other governments - in each case targeting US voices and US firms," remarked US diplomat the official.
Thierry Breton suggested that a "witch hunt" was occurring.
Officials labeled Breton as the "key designer" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates speech regulations on social media firms.
A Divisive Regulation
However, the act has frustrated some US conservatives who view it as an attempt to silence conservative viewpoints. Brussels rejects this characterization.
The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, owner of platform X, over requirements to adhere to European regulations.
EU regulators imposed a penalty on X €120m over its blue tick badges – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. It said the platform's system was "misleading" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users".
As a countermove, the platform prevented the Commission from making adverts on its platform.
Responses and Additional Restrictions
Responding to the entry restriction, the former commissioner wrote on X: "Addressing the US: Speech suppression does not lie where you think it is."
Clare Melford, who leads the British disinformation research group, was also listed.
US Undersecretary of State Sarah B Rogers accused the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to encourage censorship and blacklisting of US expression and press".
A representative for the group said the visa sanctions as "a repressive move on free speech and an egregious act of state-led suppression".
"Their actions today are unethical, illegal, and contrary to American values," they stated.
Another figure of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit that fights online hate and misinformation, was similarly issued a ban.
Rogers labeled Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with campaigns to misuse the state apparatus against US citizens".
Additionally facing restrictions were two executives of HateAid, which the US officials said aided in implementing the DSA.
Responding, the two CEOs called it an "act of repression by a government that is showing disregard for the legal principles".
"We refuse to be silenced by a state that uses claims of suppression to silence those who stand up for fundamental freedoms," they concluded.
Policy Justification
The Secretary of State stated that action was initiated to enact entry bans on "representatives of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States".
"President Trump has been explicit that his America First diplomatic stance rejects infringements of US autonomy. Extraterritorial overreach by overseas regulators aimed at American speech is no exception," he added.
