U.S. bars Europeans it says pressured tech firms to censor American viewpoints : NPR

WASHINGTON — The State Department announced Tuesday it is expelling five Europeans it accuses of leading efforts to pressure U.S. technology companies to censor or suppress American views.

Europeans, described by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “armed” non-governmental organizations, opposed a new visa policy announced in May that restricts the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censoring protected speech in the United States.

“For too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to force American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” Rubio wrote on X. “The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.”

The five Europeans were identified by Sarah Rogers, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, in a series of social media posts. They include leaders of organizations fighting digital hate and a former European Union commissioner who clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk over the broadcast of an online interview with Donald Trump.

Rubio said in a statement that they promoted censorship campaigns by foreign governments against Americans and American companies, which he said created “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States.

The move to bar them from entering the U.S. is part of the Trump administration's campaign to crack down on foreign influence over online speech, using immigration laws rather than platform rules or sanctions.

The five Europeans named by Rogers are: Imran Ahmed, executive director of the Center to Counter Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of the German organization HateAid; Claire Melford, director of the Global Disinformation Index; and former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was responsible for digital issues.

Rogers, in a post on X, named Breton, a French business executive and former finance minister, as the “mastermind” of the EU Digital Services Act, which imposes a series of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online. This includes flagging harmful or illegal content, such as hate speech.

She cited Breton warning Musk about a possible “increase in harmful content” by live-streaming his interview with Trump in August 2024, when he was running for president.

Breton responded to X on Tuesday, noting that all 27 EU members voted for the Digital Services Act in 2022. “To our American friends: censorship is not where you think,” he wrote.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France condemns the visa restrictions for Breton and the four others. Also in his post on X, he said the DSA was passed to ensure that “what is illegal offline is illegal online.” According to him, it “has absolutely no extraterritorial impact and in no way concerns the United States.”

Most Europeans are covered by the Visa Waiver Scheme, which means they do not necessarily need a visa to enter the country. However, they are required to fill out an online application before arriving in a system run by the Department of Homeland Security, so it is possible that at least some of the five people were flagged to DHS, said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that are not publicly disclosed.

Other visa restrictions were announced this year, as well as bans on foreign visitors from some countries in Africa and the Middle East, as well as the Palestinian Authority. Visitors from some countries may be required to provide a financial deposit when applying for a visa.