EU Warns Of Possible Action After U.S. Bars 5 Europeans Accused Of Censorship

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union executive warned Wednesday it would take action against any “unfair measures” after the U.S. State Department Banned five Europeans He accuses US tech companies of pressuring them to censor or suppress American viewpoints.

The Europeans were described by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponized” non-governmental organizations. These include Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner responsible for overseeing social media rules.

Breton, a businessman and former French finance minister, clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk on social media after he posted an online interview with Donald Trump in the months before the US election last year.

The European Commission, the EU’s powerful executive body that oversees technology regulations in Europe, said it “strongly condemns the US decision to impose travel restrictions” and demanded an explanation for the move. French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the incident.

“If necessary, we will respond quickly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unfair measures,” the commission said in a statement.

“For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to force American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” Rubio wrote in an X post on Tuesday.

“The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,” he said.

The European Commission opposed this, saying that “the EU is an open, rules-based single market with the sovereign right to regulate economic activity in line with our democratic values ​​and international commitments.”

“Our digital rules ensure a safe, fair and level playing field for all companies, applied fairly and without discrimination,” he said.

Macron said in his post on X that visa restrictions “mean intimidation and pressure aimed at undermining Europe’s digital sovereignty.”

Macron said the EU’s digital rules were adopted by a “democratic and sovereign process” involving all member states and the European Parliament. He said the rules “ensure fair competition between platforms without targeting a third country.”

He emphasized that “the rules governing the digital space of the European Union are not determined outside Europe.”

Breton and European group clashed over something new visa policy In May, it was announced that the United States would restrict entry to foreigners deemed responsible for censoring protected speech.

The other four: Imran Ahmed, executive director of the Center to Counter Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index.

Rubio said the five engaged in foreign government censorship campaigns against Americans and U.S. companies, creating “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States.

The action to get them into the US is part of the Trump administration’s campaign against foreign influence on online speech, using immigration law rather than platform regulations or penalties.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Sarah Rogers, the US State Department undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, called Breton the “brains” behind the EU. Digital Services ActImplementing a set of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online. This includes flagging harmful or illegal content, such as hate speech.

Breton responded to X by stating that all 27 EU member states voted for the Digital Services Act in 2022. “To our American friends: ‘Censorship is not where you think it is,'” he wrote.

Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.