US Denies Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Regarding Online Platform Policies
The US State Department declared it would deny visas to five individuals, among them a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "pressure" US-based social media platforms into curtailing opinions they disagree with.
"These individuals and weaponized NGOs have advanced suppression campaigns by foreign states - in each case focusing on American speakers and US firms," stated US diplomat the official.
The former European tech regulator remarked that a "targeted campaign" was underway.
Breton was described as the "mastermind" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates content moderation on digital platforms.
A Contentious Law
Yet, the act has frustrated some US conservatives who view it as an attempt to silence conservative viewpoints. Brussels rejects this characterization.
Breton has clashed with Elon Musk, owner of platform X, over obligations to adhere to European regulations.
EU regulators recently fined X 120 million euros over its verification system – the first fine under the DSA. Regulators stated the platform's system was "deceptive" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users".
As a countermove, the platform blocked the Commission from running advertisements on its platform.
Responses and Additional Restrictions
Responding to the entry restriction, the former commissioner wrote on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship does not lie where you think it is."
Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), was also listed.
A senior US diplomat Sarah B Rogers alleged the GDI of using American public funds "to encourage suppression and targeting 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, illegal, and contrary to American values," they stated.
Imran Ahmed of the an online hate watchdog, a nonprofit that fights digital hatred and false information, was similarly issued a ban.
The undersecretary called Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with efforts to misuse the government against US citizens".
Also subject to bans were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of a German organization, which the State Department said aided in implementing the DSA.
Responding, the two leaders called it an "attempt to silence by a administration that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law".
"We refuse to be silenced by a government that uses claims of suppression to muzzle those who defend human rights," they added.
Policy Justification
The Secretary of State stated that action was initiated to enact entry bans on "agents of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States".
"The administration has been explicit that his national sovereignty diplomatic stance opposes infringements of American sovereignty. Extraterritorial overreach by overseas regulators targeting American speech is unacceptable," he added.
