Trump administration accuses Europeans of censorship and revokes visas

Although the ministry’s statement did not mention the names of those targeted, the website The Daily Signal found that among them are the Frenchman Thierry Breton, who was the European Union Commissioner for the Internal Market between 2019 and 2024, and the Englishman Imran Ahmed, executive director of the NGO Center for Combating Digital Hatred (CCDH, for its acronym in English).

The Daily Signal pointed out that the reasons for the visa revocations of both are the fact that Breton ordered platforms such as

The State Department alleged that the five targets of the measure “led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.”

“These radical activists and instrumentalized NGOs have fueled repressive censorship actions by foreign states — in each case, targeting American speakers and companies. As such, I have determined that their entry, presence or activities in the United States have potentially serious consequences for American foreign policy,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

“Based on these determinations, the Department has taken steps to impose visa restrictions on agents of the global censorship industrial complex who, as a result, will be barred from entering the United States. Additionally, based on the foreign policy determination, the Department of Homeland Security may initiate deportation proceedings against certain individuals,” the secretary said.

“President Trump has made clear that his ‘America First’ foreign policy rejects violations of American sovereignty. The extrapolation of power by foreign censors targeting American freedom of expression is no exception. The State Department is ready and willing to expand today’s list if other foreign actors do not change their positions,” Rubio threatened.

Breton and Ahmed have not yet commented on the US State Department’s accusations.