The US State Department on Tuesday said it would deny visas to a former EU commissioner and four other people it accused of seeking to “coerce” American social media platforms into censoring opinions they oppose.
Washington targeted Thierry Breton, the former senior technology regulator at the European Commission, who often clashed with tycoons such as Elon Musk over their obligations to follow EU rules.
Mr Breton was described by the State Department as the “mastermind” of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), legislation that imposes content moderation and data protection standards on major social media platforms.
The DSA has become a rallying point for conservatives in the US who see it as a weapon of censorship against right-wing thought in Europe and beyond – an accusation the EU denies.
“These radical activists and weaponised NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states, in each case targeting American speakers and American companies,” the State Department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
The visa ban also targeted Imran Ahmed of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-profit organisation that fights online hate, misinformation, and disinformation that also fell in the crosshairs of Mr Musk after his takeover of Twitter, renamed X.
Also subject to the ban were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, a German organisation that the State Department said functions as a trusted flagger for enforcing the DSA.
Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), rounded out the group.
The US is also attacking the UK's Online Safety Act, Britain's equivalent of the DSA that seeks to impose content moderation requirements on major social media platforms.
The White House last week suspended a technology co-operation deal with Britain, saying it was in opposition to the UK's rules.
“President (Donald) Trump has been clear that his America First foreign policy rejects violations of American sovereignty,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors targeting American speech is no exception,” he added.
