EU Condemns U.S. Visa Bans on Digital Hate Activists

The EU, France and Germany have condemned US visa bans on European digital hate and disinformation activists, warning of retaliation and deepening transatlantic tensions over online regulation (image source)

PARIS — The European Union, alongside France and Germany, has sharply criticised the United States for imposing visa bans on five European citizens involved in efforts to combat online hate speech and disinformation, describing the move as unjustified and politically motivated.

The bans, announced on Tuesday by the Trump administration, target former European Commissioner Thierry Breton, a key architect of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), as well as Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of Germany’s HateAid, and Clare Melford, co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index.

Washington accused the individuals of undermining free speech and unfairly targeting United States-based technology companies through restrictive digital regulation. The decision comes amid escalating tensions between the US and Europe over digital governance, platform regulation and the limits of free expression online.

A European Commission spokesperson said the EU “strongly condemns the U.S. decision,” emphasising that freedom of expression remains a shared democratic value. “If necessary, we will respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures,” the spokesperson said.

French President Emmanuel Macron described the visa bans as an attempt to intimidate Europe and weaken its digital sovereignty. Writing on X, Macron defended the DSA as a democratically adopted law intended to ensure fair competition and apply the same legal standards to illegal online content as those governing offline conduct.

Breton, who has previously clashed with X owner Elon Musk over EU technology regulation, dismissed the US action as a “witch hunt.” He noted that the DSA was unanimously approved by all 27 EU member states and backed by around 90 percent of the European Parliament. “Censorship isn’t where you think it is,” he said.

Germany’s justice ministry condemned the bans imposed on HateAid activists as “unacceptable,” stressing that the organisation works to support victims of unlawful digital hate speech. “The rules by which we want to live in the digital space in Germany and in Europe are not decided in Washington,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Global Disinformation Index described the US decision as “an authoritarian attack on free speech,” accusing the Trump administration of attempting to silence critics rather than engage in substantive debate.

The dispute follows recent US criticism of a €120 million fine imposed by Brussels on Musk’s X platform for breaching EU content moderation rules. Analysts say the visa bans highlight Washington’s growing frustration with Europe’s increasingly assertive digital regulatory framework, which US officials argue disproportionately affects American technology companies.

Observers warn that the episode could further strain transatlantic relations already complicated by disagreements over trade, security, the war in Ukraine and the rise of far-right politics on both sides of the Atlantic.