US Denies Entry Permits to Former European Union Official and Others Over Social Media Regulations
American diplomatic officials announced it would refuse entry permits to five individuals, among them a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "coerce" US-based online companies into curtailing perspectives they disagree with.
"These individuals and weaponized NGOs have promoted censorship crackdowns by other governments - in each case focusing on US voices and American companies," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The former European tech regulator implied that a "witch hunt" was occurring.
Officials labeled Breton as the "key designer" of the European Union's online content law, which enforces content moderation on digital platforms.
A Divisive Regulation
Yet, the act has frustrated certain right-leaning Americans who view it as an attempt to silence right-wing opinions. Brussels rejects this characterization.
Breton has clashed with the billionaire entrepreneur, the world's richest man, over obligations to follow EU rules.
EU regulators imposed a penalty on X €120m over its verification system – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. Regulators stated the platform's system was "misleading" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users".
In response, the platform prevented the Commission from running advertisements on its platform.
Reactions and Broader Bans
Responding to the entry restriction, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship isn't where you think it is."
Another listed individual, who heads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), was included in the sanctions.
A senior US diplomat the official accused the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to encourage suppression and targeting of American speech and press".
A GDI spokesperson characterized the visa sanctions as "a repressive move on free expression and an egregious act of state-led suppression".
"Their actions today are immoral, illegal, and un-American," the spokesperson added.
Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit that combats online hate and misinformation, was also handed a ban.
Rogers labeled Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with efforts to weaponize the government against US citizens".
Also subject to bans were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, which the US officials said aided in implementing the DSA.
Responding, the two CEOs called it an "attempt to silence by a government that is showing disregard for the rule of law".
"We refuse to be silenced by a state that uses claims of suppression to muzzle those who stand up for fundamental freedoms," they concluded.
Official Rationale
Rubio said that action was initiated to impose entry bans on "agents of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States".
"The administration has been clear that his national sovereignty foreign policy opposes violations of American sovereignty. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors targeting American speech is unacceptable," he added.
