US Refuses Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Over Social Media Rules

American diplomatic officials declared it would refuse entry permits to a group of five people, among them a ex-European Union official, for reportedly seeking to "force" US-based online companies into suppressing viewpoints they oppose.

"These radical activists and aggressive non-profits have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states - in each case focusing on US voices and American companies," said Secretary of State the official.

Thierry Breton remarked that a "witch hunt" was underway.

Officials labeled Breton as the "mastermind" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates speech regulations on digital platforms.

A Divisive Regulation

However, the act has frustrated some US conservatives who see it as an attempt to silence conservative viewpoints. Brussels rejects this characterization.

The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, the world's richest man, over obligations to adhere to EU rules.

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 "properly authenticating users".

In response, Musk's site prevented the Commission from running advertisements on its platform.

Reactions and Broader Bans

Responding to the visa ban, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Speech suppression isn't where you think it is."

Another listed individual, who heads the British disinformation research group, was included in the sanctions.

US Undersecretary of State Sarah B Rogers alleged the GDI of using American public funds "to exhort suppression and blacklisting of American speech and media".

A GDI spokesperson characterized the entry bans as "an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship".

"These measures today are immoral, illegal, and un-American," they stated.

Imran Ahmed of the an online hate watchdog, a nonprofit that fights online hate and misinformation, was also handed a ban.

Rogers labeled Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with efforts to weaponize the state apparatus against American people".

Also subject to bans were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, which the US officials said helped enforce the DSA.

Responding, the two leaders described it as an "attempt to silence by a administration that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law".

"We refuse to be silenced by a state that uses claims of suppression to silence those who stand up for human rights," they concluded.

Official Rationale

The Secretary of State stated that steps had been taken to impose entry bans on "representatives of the international suppression network" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States".

"The administration has been clear that his national sovereignty foreign policy opposes infringements of US autonomy. Foreign-imposed regulations by foreign censors targeting US expression is unacceptable," he added.