EU warns of possible action after the US bars 5 Europeans accused of
censorship
[December 26, 2025] By
LORNE COOK
BRUSSELS (AP) — France, Germany, the European Union and the United
Kingdom on Wednesday hit out at a U.S. decision to impose travel bans on
five Europeans the Trump administration accuses of pressuring tech firms
to censor or suppress American views.
The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, which supervises
tech regulation in Europe, warned that it would take action against any
“unjustified measures." It said it had requested clarification from the
U.S. State Department, which announced the bans on Tuesday.
The five Europeans were characterized by U.S. Secretary of State Marco
Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponized” nongovernmental
organizations. They include the former EU commissioner responsible for
supervising social media rules, Thierry Breton.
Breton, a businessman and former French finance minister, clashed last
year on social media with tech billionaire Elon Musk over broadcasting
an online interview with Donald Trump in the months leading up to the
U.S. election.
Rubio wrote in an X post on Tuesday that “for far too long, ideologues
in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to
punish American viewpoints they oppose.”
“The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts
of extraterritorial censorship,” he posted.
The European Commission countered that “the EU is an open, rules-based
single market, with the sovereign right to regulate economic activity in
line with our democratic values and international commitments.”
“Our digital rules ensure a safe, fair, and level playing field for all
companies, applied fairly and without discrimination,” it said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that he had spoken to Breton
about the U.S. move. “We will stand firm against pressure and will
protect Europeans,” Macron posted.
Macron said the EU’s digital rules were adopted by “a democratic and
sovereign process” involving all member countries and the European
Parliament. He said the rules “ensure fair competition among platforms,
without targeting any third country.”
He underlined that “the rules governing the European Union’s digital
space are not meant to be determined outside Europe.”
The four other Europeans banned by the U.S. are Imran Ahmed, chief
executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon
and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization;
and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at
the State Department, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
 German Foreign Minister Johann
Wadephul said on X the entry bans, including on the leaders of
HateAid, were “not acceptable." He said Germany intended to address
the U.S. “interpretation” of the EU's digital rules with Washington
“in order to strengthen our partnership.”
EU Council President António Costa also called the U.S. bans
“unacceptable between allies, partners, and friends.”
“The EU stands firm in its defense of freedom of expression, fair
digital rules, and its regulatory sovereignty,” Costa posted on X.
The U.K. government said, “While every country has the right to set
its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions which are
working to keep the Internet free from the most harmful content.”
The Europeans fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to
restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship
of protected speech in the United States.
Rubio said the five had advanced foreign government censorship
campaigns against Americans and U.S. companies, which he said
created “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences”
for the United States.
The action to bar them from the U.S. is part of a Trump
administration campaign against foreign influence over online
speech, using immigration law rather than platform regulations or
penalties.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Sarah Rogers, the U.S. under secretary of
state for public diplomacy, called Breton the “mastermind” behind
the EU’s Digital Services Act, which imposes a set of strict
requirements designed to keep internet users safe online. This
includes flagging harmful or illegal content like hate speech.
Breton responded on X by noting that all 27 EU member countries
voted for the Digital Services Act in 2022. “To our American
friends: ‘Censorship isn’t where you think it is,’” he wrote.
___
Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.
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