🔗 Share this article US Rejects Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Additional Figures Over Online Platform Regulations Thierry Breton, has previously clashed with the owner of platform X. The US State Department stated it would deny visas to five individuals, including a ex-European Union official, for allegedly seeking to "coerce" American social media platforms into silencing viewpoints they oppose. "These radical activists and aggressive non-profits have promoted suppression campaigns by foreign states - in each case targeting US voices and American companies," remarked US diplomat the official. Thierry Breton implied that a "targeted campaign" was taking place. Breton was described as the "mastermind" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates content moderation on digital platforms. A Contentious Law However, it has angered some US conservatives who see it as seeking to censor conservative viewpoints. EU authorities rejects this characterization. The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, owner of platform X, over obligations to adhere to European regulations. The European Commission recently fined X 120 million euros over its verification system – the first fine under the DSA. It said the platform's system was "deceptive" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users". As a countermove, the platform prevented the Commission from running advertisements on its platform. Reactions and Broader Bans Reacting to the visa ban, the former commissioner wrote on X: "To our American friends: Speech suppression does not lie where you think it is." Clare Melford, who heads the British disinformation research group, was also listed. A senior US diplomat the official accused the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to exhort censorship and blacklisting of American speech and press". A GDI spokesperson characterized the entry bans as "an authoritarian attack on free speech and a blatant example of government censorship". "These measures today are immoral, illegal, and contrary to American values," the spokesperson added. Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-governmental organization that combats digital hatred and false information, was also handed a ban. The undersecretary called Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with efforts 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 helped enforce the DSA. Responding, the two CEOs described it as an "act of repression by a government that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law". "We will not be intimidated by a state that uses claims of suppression to muzzle those who stand up for human rights," they concluded. Official Rationale The Secretary of State stated that action was initiated to impose entry bans on "representatives of the international suppression network" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States". "President Trump has been explicit that his national sovereignty foreign policy opposes infringements of American sovereignty. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors aimed at American speech is unacceptable," he added.
Thierry Breton, has previously clashed with the owner of platform X. The US State Department stated it would deny visas to five individuals, including a ex-European Union official, for allegedly seeking to "coerce" American social media platforms into silencing viewpoints they oppose. "These radical activists and aggressive non-profits have promoted suppression campaigns by foreign states - in each case targeting US voices and American companies," remarked US diplomat the official. Thierry Breton implied that a "targeted campaign" was taking place. Breton was described as the "mastermind" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates content moderation on digital platforms. A Contentious Law However, it has angered some US conservatives who see it as seeking to censor conservative viewpoints. EU authorities rejects this characterization. The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, owner of platform X, over obligations to adhere to European regulations. The European Commission recently fined X 120 million euros over its verification system – the first fine under the DSA. It said the platform's system was "deceptive" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users". As a countermove, the platform prevented the Commission from running advertisements on its platform. Reactions and Broader Bans Reacting to the visa ban, the former commissioner wrote on X: "To our American friends: Speech suppression does not lie where you think it is." Clare Melford, who heads the British disinformation research group, was also listed. A senior US diplomat the official accused the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to exhort censorship and blacklisting of American speech and press". A GDI spokesperson characterized the entry bans as "an authoritarian attack on free speech and a blatant example of government censorship". "These measures today are immoral, illegal, and contrary to American values," the spokesperson added. Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-governmental organization that combats digital hatred and false information, was also handed a ban. The undersecretary called Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with efforts 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 helped enforce the DSA. Responding, the two CEOs described it as an "act of repression by a government that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law". "We will not be intimidated by a state that uses claims of suppression to muzzle those who stand up for human rights," they concluded. Official Rationale The Secretary of State stated that action was initiated to impose entry bans on "representatives of the international suppression network" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States". "President Trump has been explicit that his national sovereignty foreign policy opposes infringements of American sovereignty. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors aimed at American speech is unacceptable," he added.