EU Threatens Swift Response to US Visa Bans on European Anti-Disinformation Campaigners
The European Union may respond swiftly and decisively to the US visa bans imposed on five Europeans involved in combating online hate and disinformation. The bans target Thierry Breton and four anti-disinformation campaigners based in Germany and the UK. European leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, condemned the move, describing it as coercion and intimidation amid ongoing tensions over technology regulation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the visa bans, accusing European ideologues of pressuring American platforms and rejecting what he called extraterritorial censorship. The EU maintains that the Digital Services Act is necessary to regulate hate speech online, while Washington characterizes the regulation as a form of censorship.
These visa bans, imposed on Tuesday, reflect a broader clash between the Trump administration and Europe concerning tech policy. Other notable developments today include the Department of Justice stating that over 1 million Epstein documents remain to be processed, a federal judge blocking Department of Homeland Security funding cuts to states, and the deployment of 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans.
