The United States Denies Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Additional Figures Concerning Online Platform Regulations
The US State Department declared it would refuse entry permits to a group of five people, among them a ex-European Union official, for reportedly seeking to "coerce" American online companies into curtailing perspectives they disagree with.
"These radical activists and aggressive non-profits have advanced censorship crackdowns by other governments - in each case targeting US voices and American companies," stated Secretary of State the official.
The former European tech regulator suggested that a "witch hunt" was taking place.
Breton was described as the "mastermind" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates speech regulations on digital platforms.
A Contentious Law
However, the act has frustrated certain right-leaning Americans who view it as seeking to censor right-wing opinions. Brussels rejects this characterization.
Breton has clashed with the billionaire entrepreneur, the world's richest man, over obligations to adhere to 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 "misleading" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users".
As a countermove, the platform prevented the Commission from making adverts on its platform.
Reactions and Broader Bans
Responding to the visa ban, Breton posted on X: "To our American friends: Censorship isn't where you think it is."
Another listed individual, who heads the British disinformation research group, was included in the sanctions.
A senior US diplomat Sarah B Rogers accused the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to encourage suppression and targeting of American speech and media".
A GDI spokesperson said the entry bans as "a repressive move on free speech and an egregious act of state-led suppression".
"Their actions today are unethical, unlawful, and contrary to American values," the spokesperson added.
Imran Ahmed of the an online hate watchdog, a non-governmental organization that combats online hate and false information, was similarly issued a ban.
Rogers called Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with efforts to weaponize the government against US citizens".
Additionally facing restrictions were two executives of HateAid, which the US officials said helped enforce the DSA.
In a statement, the two CEOs called it an "act of repression by a government that is showing disregard for the rule of law".
"We will not be intimidated by a state that uses accusations of censorship to muzzle those who defend human rights," they concluded.
Policy Justification
Rubio said that steps had been taken to impose entry bans on "representatives of the international suppression network" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States".
"The administration has been clear that his America First foreign policy opposes violations of US autonomy. Extraterritorial overreach by overseas regulators aimed at American speech is unacceptable," he added.
