🔗 Share this article US Refuses Entry Permits to Former European Union Official and Additional Figures Over Social Media Regulations The former top tech regulator, who has been in conflict with Elon Musk. The US State Department stated it would refuse entry permits to five individuals, including a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "force" US-based social media platforms into suppressing perspectives they oppose. "These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have promoted suppression campaigns by foreign states - in each case targeting US voices and US firms," remarked Secretary of State the official. The former European tech regulator remarked that a "targeted campaign" was taking place. Breton was described as the "key designer" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates content moderation on digital platforms. A Contentious Law However, the act has frustrated certain right-leaning Americans who see it as seeking to censor right-wing opinions. EU authorities denies this. The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, owner of platform X, over obligations to adhere to EU rules. 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 "misleading" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users". In response, Musk's site prevented the Commission from making adverts on its platform. Responses and Additional Restrictions Responding to the visa ban, the former commissioner wrote on X: "To our American friends: Speech suppression does not lie where you think it is." Another listed individual, who heads the UK-based disinformation research group, was included in the sanctions. US Undersecretary of State the official accused the GDI of using American public funds "to encourage censorship and blacklisting of US expression and media". A GDI spokesperson characterized the entry bans as "a repressive move on free expression and an egregious act of state-led suppression". "These measures today are unethical, unlawful, and contrary to American values," they stated. Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-governmental organization that combats online hate and misinformation, was similarly issued a ban. The undersecretary labeled Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with efforts to weaponize the state apparatus against US citizens". Additionally facing restrictions were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, which the State Department said helped enforce the DSA. Responding, the two leaders called it an "act of repression by a administration that is increasingly disregarding the legal principles". "We will not be intimidated by a state that uses claims of suppression to silence those who stand up for human rights," they added. Policy Justification The Secretary of State stated that steps had been taken to enact entry bans on "representatives of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States". "The administration has been clear that his America First foreign policy rejects infringements of US autonomy. Extraterritorial overreach by overseas regulators targeting US expression is no exception," he added.
The former top tech regulator, who has been in conflict with Elon Musk. The US State Department stated it would refuse entry permits to five individuals, including a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "force" US-based social media platforms into suppressing perspectives they oppose. "These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have promoted suppression campaigns by foreign states - in each case targeting US voices and US firms," remarked Secretary of State the official. The former European tech regulator remarked that a "targeted campaign" was taking place. Breton was described as the "key designer" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates content moderation on digital platforms. A Contentious Law However, the act has frustrated certain right-leaning Americans who see it as seeking to censor right-wing opinions. EU authorities denies this. The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, owner of platform X, over obligations to adhere to EU rules. 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 "misleading" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users". In response, Musk's site prevented the Commission from making adverts on its platform. Responses and Additional Restrictions Responding to the visa ban, the former commissioner wrote on X: "To our American friends: Speech suppression does not lie where you think it is." Another listed individual, who heads the UK-based disinformation research group, was included in the sanctions. US Undersecretary of State the official accused the GDI of using American public funds "to encourage censorship and blacklisting of US expression and media". A GDI spokesperson characterized the entry bans as "a repressive move on free expression and an egregious act of state-led suppression". "These measures today are unethical, unlawful, and contrary to American values," they stated. Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-governmental organization that combats online hate and misinformation, was similarly issued a ban. The undersecretary labeled Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with efforts to weaponize the state apparatus against US citizens". Additionally facing restrictions were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, which the State Department said helped enforce the DSA. Responding, the two leaders called it an "act of repression by a administration that is increasingly disregarding the legal principles". "We will not be intimidated by a state that uses claims of suppression to silence those who stand up for human rights," they added. Policy Justification The Secretary of State stated that steps had been taken to enact entry bans on "representatives of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States". "The administration has been clear that his America First foreign policy rejects infringements of US autonomy. Extraterritorial overreach by overseas regulators targeting US expression is no exception," he added.