US Denies Visas to Foreign Activists Tied to Digital Content Regulation, Sparking Free Speech Debate
The US State Department has denied visas to five individuals associated with efforts to influence American social media platforms, including Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner responsible for the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA). Other individuals affected include Clare Melford of the Global Disinformation Index, Imran Ahmed from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon from HateAid.
The State Department described this group as radical activists and weaponized NGOs seeking to suppress diverse viewpoints and to pressure American speakers and firms. Breton criticized the visa denial on X, calling it a witch hunt; he is identified by the US authorities as the mastermind behind the EU's DSA.
The EU Commission's Digital Services Act imposes content moderation requirements on social media platforms, although Brussels denies that it censors political viewpoints. Recently, the EU fined X €120 million under the DSA for deceptive blue-tick verification policies. In response, X limited advertising on its platform.
Reactions to the US sanctions included allegations that these measures represent an authoritarian attack on free speech from groups such as the Global Disinformation Index and the Center for Countering Digital Hate, with the latter accusing the government of weaponizing its authority against US citizens.
Senator Marco Rubio framed the visa actions as resistance against extraterritorial censorship by foreign actors, aligning the move with an America First policy.
