WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.
The Europeans, characterized by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as 鈥渞adical鈥� activists and 鈥渨eaponized鈥� nongovernmental organizations, fell afoul of a announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States.
鈥淔or far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,鈥� Rubio posted on X. 鈥淭he Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.鈥�
The five Europeans were identified by Sarah Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, in a series of posts on social media. They include the leaders of organizations that address digital hate and a former European Union commissioner who clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk over broadcasting an online interview with Donald Trump.
Rubio’s statement said they advanced foreign government censorship campaigns against Americans and U.S. companies, which he said created 鈥減otentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences鈥� for the U.S.
The action to bar them from the U.S. is part of a Trump administration campaign against foreign influence over online speech, using immigration law rather than platform regulations or sanctions.
The five Europeans named by Rogers are: Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index; and former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was responsible for supervising social media rules
Rogers in her post on X called Breton, a French business executive and former finance minister, the 鈥渕astermind鈥� behind the EU’s , which imposes a set of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online. This includes flagging harmful or illegal content like hate speech.
She referred to Breton warning Musk of a possible 鈥渁mplification of harmful content鈥� by with Trump in August 2024 when he was running for president.
Breton responded Tuesday on X by noting that all 27 EU members voted for the Digital Services Act in 2022. 鈥淭o our American friends: 鈥楥ensorship isn鈥檛 where you think it is,鈥欌�� he wrote.
French Foreign Minister Jean-No毛l Barrot said France condemns the visa restrictions on Breton and the four others. Also posting on X, he said the DSA was adopted to ensure that 鈥渨hat is illegal offline is also illegal online.鈥� He said it 鈥渉as absolutely no extraterritorial reach and in no way concerns the United States.鈥�
A statement from Ballon and von Hodenberg, the co-CEOs of HateAid, called it “an act of repression by a government that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law and trying to silence its critics by any means necessary.鈥�
Most Europeans are covered by the Visa Waiver Program, which means they don鈥檛 necessarily need visas to come into the country. They do, however, need to complete an online application prior to arrival under a system run by the Department of Homeland Security, so it is possible that at least some of these five people have been flagged to DHS, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not publicly released.
Other visa restriction policies were announced this year, along with bans targeting foreign visitors from certain African and Middle Eastern countries and the Palestinian Authority. Visitors from some countries could be required to post a financial bond when applying for a visa.
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Associated Press Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
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