US Refuses Visas to Former European Union Official and Additional Figures Concerning Social Media Regulations
American diplomatic officials stated it would refuse entry permits to a group of five people, including a ex-European Union official, for reportedly seeking to "coerce" US-based online companies into silencing perspectives they oppose.
"These individuals and aggressive non-profits have promoted suppression campaigns by other governments - in each case focusing on US voices and US firms," said US diplomat the official.
Thierry Breton remarked that a "targeted campaign" was underway.
Officials labeled Breton as the "mastermind" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates speech regulations on digital platforms.
A Divisive Regulation
However, the act has frustrated some US conservatives who see it as an attempt to silence conservative viewpoints. EU authorities rejects this characterization.
The official has been in conflict with the billionaire entrepreneur, owner of platform X, over obligations to follow European regulations.
The European Commission recently fined X €120m over its blue tick badges – the first fine under the DSA. It said the platform's system was "deceptive" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users".
As a countermove, Musk's site prevented the European body from running advertisements on its platform.
Reactions and Broader Bans
Reacting to the visa ban, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Speech suppression does not lie where you think it is."
Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based disinformation research group, was also listed.
US Undersecretary of State the official alleged the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to exhort censorship and targeting of American speech and media".
A representative for the group characterized the entry bans as "a repressive move on free expression and a blatant example of state-led suppression".
"These measures today are immoral, unlawful, and un-American," they stated.
Imran Ahmed of the an online hate watchdog, a non-governmental organization that combats digital hatred and misinformation, was also handed a ban.
The undersecretary called Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with campaigns to weaponize the state apparatus against US citizens".
Also subject to bans were two executives of a German organization, which the State Department said helped enforce the DSA.
In a statement, the two CEOs described it as an "attempt to silence by a government that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law".
"We refuse to be silenced by a government that uses accusations of censorship to muzzle those who defend human rights," they concluded.
Official Rationale
The Secretary of State stated that action was initiated to enact visa restrictions on "representatives of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States".
"The administration has been explicit that his America First foreign policy rejects infringements of US autonomy. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors aimed at American speech is no exception," he added.
