Fact checkers and others could be denied U.S. visas under new plan : NPR

The State Department is directing its officials to reject visa applications from people who have been involved in fact-checking, content moderation or other activities that the Trump administration considers “censorship” of American speech.

The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, targets applicants for H-1B visas for high-skilled workers, which are often used by technology companies, among other sectors. The note was first reported Reuters; NPR also obtained a copy.

“If you discover evidence that the applicant was responsible for or was complicit in censoring or attempting to censor protected expression in the United States, you should seek a finding that the applicant is ineligible” for a visa, the memo states. It's about politics Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in May will limit the issuance of visas to “foreign officials and persons involved in censorship of Americans.”

The Trump administration was very critical about tech companies' efforts to control what people are allowed to post on their platforms, as well as the broader field of trust and safety – a tech industry term for teams that focus on preventing abuse, fraud, illegal content and other harmful behavior online.

President Trump was banned from multiple social media platforms following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters. Although these bans have since been lifted, the president and members of his administration often point to this experience as evidence of their claims that tech companies are unfairly targeting conservatives – even though many tech leaders softened their policy in the face of this backlash.

Tuesday's memo specifically targeted H-1B visa applicants “as many of them work or have worked in the technology sector, including social media or financial services companies involved in suppressing protected expression.”

It directs consular officers to “scrutinize” the work history of applicants, both new and returning, by reviewing their resumes, LinkedIn profiles and mentions in media articles for activities including combating disinformation, disinformation or false narratives, fact-checking, content moderation, compliance, and trust and safety.

“I'm alarmed that work on trust and safety is being conflated with 'censorship,'” said Alice Goguen Hunsberger, who has worked on trust and safety at tech companies including OpenAI and Grindr.

“Trust and Safety is a broad practice that includes the critical and vital work of protecting children and preventing CSAM. [child sexual abuse material]and preventing fraud, scams and sexual extortion. T&S workers are focused on making the Internet a safer and better place, not censoring just for the sake of it,” she said. “Attackers targeting Americans come from all over the world, and it is important to have people on trust and safety teams who understand different languages ​​and cultures – having global employees at technology companies in [trust and safety] absolutely keeps Americans safe.”

In a statement, a State Department spokesman, who declined to give his name, said the agency does not comment on “allegedly leaked documents” but added: “The administration has made clear that it protects Americans' free speech from foreigners who want to censor them. We do not support foreigners coming to the United States to work as censors who silence Americans.”

The statement further said: “The President himself has been the victim of this type of abuse in the past when social media companies suspended his accounts. He doesn't want other Americans to suffer like this. Allowing foreigners to lead this type of censorship would be both an insult and harm to the American people.”

First Amendment experts have criticized the memorandum's provisions as a potential violation of free speech rights.

“People who study disinformation and work on content moderation groups are not engaging in “censorship”—they are engaging in activities that the First Amendment is designed to protect. This policy is inconsistent and unconstitutional,” Carrie DeSell, senior staff attorney and legislative counsel at Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute, said in a statement.

Even as the administration goes after those it says are censoring Americans, it has also stepped up its own scrutiny online speech for visa applicants.

On Wednesday, the State Department announced H-1B visa applicants and their family members will be required to make their social media profiles public so they can be viewed by U.S. officials.

NPR's Bobby Allyn and Michelle Kelemen contributed reporting.