The US State Department sparked an international outcry after denying visas to five prominent European social media campaigners for allegedly coercing tech platforms. This dramatic escalation targets British, French, and German activists whom the Trump administration describes as a “global censorship-industrial complex.”
European leaders reacted swiftly to the move, with President Emmanuel Macron labeling the travel bans as a form of intimidation. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the measures an unacceptable attempt to challenge European digital sovereignty and law.
“While every country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support institutions working for a free internet,” a UK government spokesperson said.
US Targets ‘Radical Activists’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the sanctions, claiming these individuals seek to suppress free speech through extraterritorial overreach. Consequently, the ban hits high-profile figures like Imran Ahmed head of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, CEO of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI).
US Undersecretary Sarah B. Rogers accused the GDI of using American taxpayer money to exhort the blacklisting of American press. However, a GDI spokesperson told the BBC that these authoritarian sanctions represent an immoral and un-American attack on free speech.
The State Department also targeted Thierry Breton, the former EU tech regulator and supposed “mastermind” behind the Digital Services Act. Breton recently clashed with Elon Musk, whose platform X received a €120m fine for deceptive verification practices under European law. “To our American friends: Censorship isn’t where you think it is,” Breton posted on X following the visa ban news.
Finally, German activists from HateAid, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon, also face these new American entry restrictions, though they described the situation as an act of repression by a government that is increasingly disregarding the international rule of law.
