US Rejects Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Over Social Media Policies

American diplomatic officials announced it would deny visas to five individuals, among them a ex-European Union official, for allegedly seeking to "pressure" American social media platforms into suppressing perspectives they disagree with.

"These individuals and weaponized NGOs have promoted censorship crackdowns by other governments - in each case targeting American speakers and American companies," stated Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Thierry Breton remarked that a "witch hunt" was taking place.

Officials labeled Breton as the "architect" of the European Union's online content law, which imposes content moderation on digital platforms.

A Divisive Regulation

However, it has angered certain right-leaning Americans who see it as seeking to censor conservative viewpoints. EU authorities denies this.

Breton has clashed with the billionaire entrepreneur, the world's richest man, over requirements to follow European regulations.

EU regulators imposed a penalty on X €120m over its blue tick badges – the first fine under the DSA. It said the platform's system was "deceptive" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users".

As a countermove, the platform prevented the Commission from running advertisements on its platform.

Reactions and Broader Bans

Reacting to the visa ban, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship does not lie where you think it is."

Another listed individual, who leads the British Global Disinformation Index (GDI), was included in the sanctions.

A senior US diplomat Sarah B Rogers accused the GDI of using American public funds "to exhort suppression and blacklisting of US expression and media".

A GDI spokesperson said the entry bans as "a repressive move on free expression and a blatant example of government censorship".

"These measures today are immoral, illegal, and contrary to American values," they stated.

Another figure 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 campaigns to weaponize the government against American people".

Also subject to bans were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of a German organization, which the State Department said helped enforce the DSA.

In a statement, the two CEOs called it an "attempt to silence by a administration that is showing disregard for the rule of law".

"We refuse to be silenced by a state that uses accusations of censorship to muzzle those who stand up for fundamental freedoms," they concluded.

Policy Justification

The Secretary of State stated that action was initiated to enact visa restrictions on "representatives of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States".

"President Trump has been clear that his America First foreign policy rejects infringements of US autonomy. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors aimed at US expression is no exception," he affirmed.