🔗 Share this article US Rejects Visas to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Over Social Media Regulations The former top tech regulator, has previously clashed with Elon Musk. The US State Department announced it would refuse entry permits to a group of five people, among them a former EU commissioner, for reportedly seeking to "coerce" American online companies into curtailing viewpoints they disagree with. "These individuals and weaponized NGOs have promoted suppression campaigns by other governments - in each case focusing on US voices and American companies," stated Secretary of State the official. The former European tech regulator remarked that a "witch hunt" was taking place. Officials labeled Breton as the "mastermind" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates content moderation on social media firms. A Contentious Law Yet, the act has frustrated certain right-leaning Americans who see it as an attempt to silence conservative viewpoints. EU authorities denies this. The official has been in conflict with the billionaire entrepreneur, owner of platform X, over obligations to follow European regulations. EU regulators recently fined X 120 million euros over its verification system – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. Regulators stated the platform's system was "misleading" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users". As a countermove, Musk's site blocked the European body from running advertisements on its platform. Reactions and Broader Bans Reacting to the visa ban, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship isn't 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 accused the GDI of using American public funds "to exhort suppression and blacklisting of US expression and press". A representative for the group said the visa sanctions as "an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship". "Their actions today are unethical, unlawful, and un-American," they stated. Imran Ahmed of the an online hate watchdog, a non-governmental organization that combats online hate and false information, was similarly issued a ban. Rogers labeled Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with campaigns to misuse the government against American people". Additionally facing restrictions were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of a German organization, which the State Department said aided in implementing the DSA. In a statement, the two leaders described it as an "act of repression by a administration that is showing disregard for the legal principles". "We will not be intimidated by a state that uses claims of suppression to muzzle those who stand up for human rights," they concluded. Policy Justification Rubio said that steps had been taken to enact 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 foreign policy rejects violations of US autonomy. Foreign-imposed regulations by overseas regulators targeting American speech is no exception," he added.
The former top tech regulator, has previously clashed with Elon Musk. The US State Department announced it would refuse entry permits to a group of five people, among them a former EU commissioner, for reportedly seeking to "coerce" American online companies into curtailing viewpoints they disagree with. "These individuals and weaponized NGOs have promoted suppression campaigns by other governments - in each case focusing on US voices and American companies," stated Secretary of State the official. The former European tech regulator remarked that a "witch hunt" was taking place. Officials labeled Breton as the "mastermind" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates content moderation on social media firms. A Contentious Law Yet, the act has frustrated certain right-leaning Americans who see it as an attempt to silence conservative viewpoints. EU authorities denies this. The official has been in conflict with the billionaire entrepreneur, owner of platform X, over obligations to follow European regulations. EU regulators recently fined X 120 million euros over its verification system – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. Regulators stated the platform's system was "misleading" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users". As a countermove, Musk's site blocked the European body from running advertisements on its platform. Reactions and Broader Bans Reacting to the visa ban, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship isn't 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 accused the GDI of using American public funds "to exhort suppression and blacklisting of US expression and press". A representative for the group said the visa sanctions as "an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship". "Their actions today are unethical, unlawful, and un-American," they stated. Imran Ahmed of the an online hate watchdog, a non-governmental organization that combats online hate and false information, was similarly issued a ban. Rogers labeled Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with campaigns to misuse the government against American people". Additionally facing restrictions were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of a German organization, which the State Department said aided in implementing the DSA. In a statement, the two leaders described it as an "act of repression by a administration that is showing disregard for the legal principles". "We will not be intimidated by a state that uses claims of suppression to muzzle those who stand up for human rights," they concluded. Policy Justification Rubio said that steps had been taken to enact 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 foreign policy rejects violations of US autonomy. Foreign-imposed regulations by overseas regulators targeting American speech is no exception," he added.