The United States Denies Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Over Online Platform Rules
American diplomatic officials stated it would deny visas to a group of five people, among them a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "coerce" American online companies into suppressing opinions they disagree with.
"These radical activists and aggressive non-profits have advanced suppression campaigns by other governments - in each case focusing on American speakers and US firms," stated US diplomat Marco Rubio.
The former European tech regulator suggested that a "targeted campaign" was underway.
Officials labeled Breton as the "key designer" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates speech regulations on social media firms.
A Divisive Regulation
Yet, it has angered certain right-leaning Americans who view it as seeking to censor conservative viewpoints. EU authorities denies this.
Breton has clashed with the billionaire entrepreneur, owner of platform X, over obligations to adhere to European regulations.
EU regulators recently fined X €120m over its verification system – 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, Musk's site prevented the Commission from making adverts on its platform.
Reactions and Broader Bans
Responding to the entry restriction, the former commissioner wrote on X: "To our American friends: Speech suppression isn't where you think it is."
Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), was included in the sanctions.
US Undersecretary of State Sarah B Rogers accused the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to exhort suppression and targeting of US expression and press".
A GDI spokesperson characterized the visa sanctions as "an authoritarian attack on free expression and an egregious act of state-led suppression".
"These measures today are unethical, illegal, and contrary to American values," the spokesperson added.
Imran Ahmed of the an online hate watchdog, a non-governmental organization that combats digital hatred and misinformation, was similarly issued a ban.
Rogers called Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with campaigns to weaponize the state apparatus against American people".
Additionally facing restrictions were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of a German organization, which the US officials said aided in implementing the DSA.
Responding, the two leaders called it an "act of repression by a government that is showing disregard for the rule of law".
"We refuse to be silenced by a government that uses accusations of censorship to silence 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 "agents of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States".
"The administration has been explicit that his America First diplomatic stance opposes violations of US autonomy. Extraterritorial overreach by overseas regulators aimed at US expression is no exception," he affirmed.
