According to reports, European leaders were quick to denounce the Trump administration’s imposition of visa bans on five officials and activists who Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.”
French president Emmanuel Macron said the ban was “intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.” European Council President António Costa said that “such measures are unacceptable between allies, partners, and friends,” and the European Commission said that “if needed, we will respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures.”
One of the targeted officials, former European Union (EU) commissioner Thierry Breton, is considered a mastermind of the EU’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA). “Is McCarthy’s witch hunt back? As a reminder: 90% of the European Parliament—our democratically elected body—and all 27 Member States unanimously voted [for] the DSA. To our American friends: ‘Censorship isn’t where you think it is,’ ” Mr. Breton said on X.
Another target is Imran Ahmed, founder and chief executive officer of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Mr. Ahmed, a U.S. permanent resident and British national, filed a lawsuit against Trump administration officials, resulting in a restraining order from a federal judge temporarily forbidding the administration from arresting or detaining Mr. Ahmed before his case can be heard. “I will not be bullied away from my life’s work of fighting to keep children safe from social media’s harm and stopping antisemitism online,” he said.
