US Bars Five Europeans It Says Pressured Tech Firms To Censor American Viewpoints Online

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. The Europeans, characterized by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as 'radical' activists and 'weaponized' nongovernmental organizations, fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States. 'For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,' Rubio posted on X. 'The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.'

The five Europeans were identified by Sarah Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, in a series of posts on social media. The five Europeans named by Rogers are: Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index; and former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was responsible for digital affairs. Rogers in her post on X called Breton, a French business executive and former finance minister, the 'mastermind' behind the EU's Digital Services Act, which imposes a set of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online. This includes flagging harmful or illegal content like hate speech. She referred to Breton warning Musk of a possible 'amplification of harmful content' by broadcasting his livestream interview with Trump in August 2024 when he was running for president.

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