US bans visas for ex-EU Commissioner Thierry Breton over censorship claims

Washington: The US State Department announced Tuesday it would deny visas to former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and four anti-disinformation advocates, accusing them of pressuring American tech platforms to censor speech, the latest escalation in a growing transatlantic clash over digital regulation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the five individuals have led "organised efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetise, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose," adding that their activities pose "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences" for the United States. The visa restrictions target what Under Secretary Sarah Rogers called "the global censorship-industrial complex".

Targeting Europe's Digital Enforcers

Breton, who served as the EU's top tech regulator from 2019 to 2024, was labelled the "mastermind" of the Digital Services Act by the State Department. The landmark legislation requires major social media platforms to moderate content, provide transparency around advertising, and grant researchers data access, rules US conservatives view as censorship of right-wing viewpoints, a claim the EU denies.

The visa bans also hit Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, whom Rogers accused of collaborating with the Biden administration to "weaponise the government" against US citizens. Clare Melford of the UK's Global Disinformation Index was sanctioned for allegedly using State Department funding to promote "censorship and blacklisting" of American speech. Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of Germany's HateAid rounded out the list.

Europe Pushes Back

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned the restrictions, stating that Europe "cannot let the rules governing their digital space be imposed by others upon them". Breton responded on X, calling the ban a "witch hunt" and writing, "To our American friends: Censorship isn't where you think it is".

The sanctioned organisations rejected the accusations. The Global Disinformation Index called the visa bans "an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship". Von Hodenberg and Ballon said they would not be intimidated by "a government that is increasingly ignoring the rule of law".

The action follows the EU's €120 million fine against X in early December for violating DSA transparency rules, and the Trump administration's recent suspension of a $40 billion technology deal with Britain over frustrations with UK digital regulations.