US denies visas to EU ex-commissioner, four others over tech rules

Washington: The US State Department said Tuesday it would deny visas to a former EU commissioner and four others, accusing them of seeking to “coerce” American social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose.

“These radical activists and weaponised NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states - in each case targeting American speakers and American companies,” the department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

The measure targeted Thierry Breton, the former top tech regulator at the European Commission, who often clashed with tech tycoons such as Elon Musk over their obligations to follow EU rules.

Breton was described by the State Department as the “mastermind” of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a major piece of legislation that imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X his country “strongly condemns” the visa restrictions, adding that Europe “cannot let the rules governing their digital space be imposed by others upon them”.

The DSA has become a bitter rallying point for US conservatives who see it as a weapon of censorship against right-wing thought in Europe and beyond, an accusation the EU furiously denies.

“The Digital Services Act (DSA) was democratically adopted in Europe... it has absolutely no extraterritorial reach and in no way affects the United States,” Barrot said.

The DSA stipulates that major platforms must explain content-moderation decisions, provide transparency for users and ensure researchers can carry out essential work, such as understanding how much children are exposed to dangerous content.

Breton, who left the European Commission in 2024, on X slammed the ban as a “witch hunt,” comparing the situation to the US McCarthy era when officials were chased out of government for alleged ties to communism.

“To our American friends: Censorship isn’t where you think it is,” he added.

‘Extraterritorial overreach’

Washington has scaled up its attacks on EU regulations after Brussels earlier this month fined Musk’s X for violating DSA rules on transparency in advertising and its methods for ensuring users were verified and actual people.

Last week the US government signalled that key European businesses could be targeted in response, listing Accenture, DHL, Mistral, Siemens and Spotify among others.

The visa ban also targeted Imran Ahmed of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that fights online hate, misinformation, and disinformation that also fell in the crosshairs of Musk after his takeover of Twitter, later renamed X.

Also subject to the ban were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, a German organisation that the State Department said functions as a trusted flagger for enforcing the DSA.

Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), rounded out the group.

Washington is also attacking the UK’s Online Safety Act, Britain’s equivalent of the DSA that seeks to impose content moderation requirements on major social media platforms.

The White House last week suspended implementation of a tech cooperation deal with Britain, saying it was in opposition to the UK’s tech rules.

“President Trump has been clear that his America First foreign policy rejects violations of American sovereignty,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

“Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors targeting American speech is no exception,” he added.