US to ban foreign officials over 'flagrant censorship' on social media
Source: Reuters
May 28, 2025 4:27 PM EDT Updated 12 hours ago
WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. will impose visa bans on foreign nationals it deems to be censoring Americans, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday, and he suggested the new policy could target officials regulating U.S. tech companies. Rubio did not name any specific instances of censorship. But U.S. tech companies and the Trump administration have challenged U.S. allies in Europe, alleging censorship of social media platforms.
Restricting officials from visiting the U.S. appeared to be an escalation by Washington. Rubio said in a statement that a new visa restriction policy would apply to foreign nationals responsible for censorship of protected expression in the U.S. He said it was unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants for social media posts made on U.S. soil.
"It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States," Rubio said. Some foreign officials have taken "flagrant censorship actions against U.S. tech companies and U.S. citizens and residents when they have no authority to do so," Rubio said.
U.S. social media companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta (META.O) have said an EU content moderation law, the Digital Services Act, amounts to censorship of their platforms. The Trump-appointed chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in March warned the EU Digital Services Act excessively restricts freedom of expression.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-visa-policy-targets-foreign-nationals-who-censor-americans-state-dept-2025-05-28/
= new reply since forum marked as read
