The administration of Donald Trump has banned two British citizens and a former European Union commissioner from entering the United States, accusing them of undermining free speech by pressuring social media companies to censor content.
Those affected include Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, head of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). Ahmed now faces deportation from the US, while Melford’s visa is set to be revoked.
The US State Department said it would also deny visas to three other individuals, claiming they were involved in efforts to “coerce” American technology platforms into silencing opinions they disagreed with.
The move also targets Thierry Breton, the former European Commission official responsible for digital regulation, who frequently clashed with technology leaders such as Elon Musk over the enforcement of European content rules.
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Announcing the decision, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused European officials and campaigners of attempting to impose censorship beyond their borders.
“For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organised efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” Rubio said.
“The Trump administration will no longer tolerate these acts of extraterritorial censorship.”
The State Department described Breton as the “mastermind” behind the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a major law that requires large online platforms to remove illegal content, explain moderation decisions and increase transparency for users and researchers.
Trump and senior members of his administration have repeatedly criticised the DSA, arguing that it threatens free speech and interferes with American sovereignty. US conservatives in particular view the law as a tool used to suppress right-wing views, a claim the EU strongly denies.
France reacted angrily to the visa bans. French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris “strongly condemns” the decision and warned that Europe would not allow foreign governments to dictate how its digital space is regulated.
“The Digital Services Act was democratically adopted in Europe,” Barrot said. “It has no extraterritorial reach and does not apply to the United States.”
Breton, who left the European Commission in 2024, dismissed the ban as a “witch hunt”, comparing it to the McCarthy era in the US when officials were targeted over alleged political beliefs.
“To our American friends: censorship isn’t where you think it is,” he wrote on X.
The CCDH, which operates in both the UK and the US, says it works to combat online hate and misinformation. It was founded in 2017 by Morgan McSweeney, now chief of staff to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Ahmed, who is based in Washington, has been a vocal critic of vaccine sceptics and social media platforms.
In 2021, the group labelled Robert F Kennedy Jr, now US health secretary, as part of its “Disinformation Dozen”, calling for action against figures it accused of spreading vaccine misinformation. The organisation has also published reports sharply criticising Elon Musk’s ownership of X, formerly Twitter.
Musk later sued the CCDH, but the case was dismissed by a judge.
US officials said the travel bans could be expanded. In a statement, the State Department said Trump’s “America First” policy rejects any foreign effort to interfere with American speech.
“Those who build or support the censorship pipeline will not gain access to American soil,” it said.
The decision follows other recent visa bans, including against British journalist Sami Hamdi and British rap group Bob Vylan, highlighting the administration’s increasingly hard line on free speech and foreign influence.
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