Ex E.U. Commissioner and activists denied U.S. visas over online censorship pressure

The United States has announced visa bans against five foreign individuals, including a former European Union commissioner, accusing them of attempting to pressure American social media companies into suppressing views they oppose.

The move was confirmed by the US State Department, which said those targeted were involved in efforts to “coerce” US platforms into censorship.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the action was aimed at what he described as a growing global censorship effort. “These radical activists and weaponised NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states, in each case targeting American speakers and American companies,” he said. He added that those affected would be barred from entering the United States as “agents of the global censorship-industrial complex”.

Among those named was Thierry Breton, the former European Commission commissioner responsible for digital regulation and a key architect of the EU’s pro-censorship Digital Services Act. The law places strict content moderation obligations on large technology companies and has drawn criticism from US conservatives, who argue it disproportionately targets right-wing viewpoints.

Breton responded angrily to the visa ban, describing it as a “witch hunt” and posting on X: “To our American friends: Censorship isn’t where you think it is.” He has previously clashed with X owner Elon Musk over compliance with EU rules. The European Commission recently fined X €120 million over its blue tick verification system, prompting the platform to block EU advertising.

Also included in the visa bans was Clare Melford, head of the UK-based “Global Disinformation Index”. US Undersecretary of State Sarah B Rogers accused the organisation of using US taxpayer funds “to exhort censorship and blacklisting of American speech and press”.

Imran Ahmed, head of the “Center for Countering Digital Hate”, was also barred. Rogers described him as a collaborator in efforts to “weaponise the government against US citizens”.