The United States Rejects Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Over Online Platform Policies
The US State Department stated it would deny visas to five individuals, among them a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "pressure" American online companies into suppressing perspectives they oppose.
"These individuals and aggressive non-profits have promoted suppression campaigns by other governments - in each case focusing on American speakers and American companies," remarked Secretary of State the official.
Thierry Breton implied that a "targeted campaign" was taking place.
Breton was described as the "mastermind" of the European Union's online content law, which imposes content moderation on digital platforms.
A Divisive Regulation
Yet, it has angered some US conservatives who view it as seeking to censor conservative viewpoints. Brussels rejects this characterization.
The official has been in conflict with the billionaire entrepreneur, the world's richest man, over requirements to follow European regulations.
The European Commission imposed a penalty on X €120m over its verification system – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. Regulators stated the platform's system was "deceptive" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users".
In response, Musk's site prevented the Commission from making adverts on its platform.
Responses and Additional Restrictions
Reacting to the entry restriction, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship does not lie where you think it is."
Another listed individual, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), was included in the sanctions.
US Undersecretary of State the official accused the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to encourage censorship and blacklisting of US expression and press".
A representative for the group characterized the visa sanctions as "an authoritarian attack on free speech and a blatant example of state-led suppression".
"These measures today are immoral, unlawful, and contrary to American values," they stated.
Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit that combats online hate and misinformation, was similarly issued a ban.
The undersecretary called Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with campaigns to misuse the government against US citizens".
Also subject to bans were two executives of a German organization, which the US officials said aided in implementing the DSA.
Responding, the two leaders called it an "attempt to silence by a administration that is showing disregard for the legal principles".
"We refuse to be silenced by a state that uses accusations of censorship to muzzle those who stand up for fundamental freedoms," they concluded.
Official Rationale
The Secretary of State stated that steps had been taken to impose entry bans on "representatives of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States".
"President Trump has been clear that his America First foreign policy opposes infringements of US autonomy. Foreign-imposed regulations by overseas regulators targeting American speech is no exception," he added.
