Washington denied visas to five European citizens, including a former EU commissioner, for “censorship” of US social media.
Thierry Breton was the architect of the EU’s Digital Service Act, which imposed stringent content moderation requirements on tech platforms. The US secretary of state said Breton and the four others were “radical activists… targeting American speakers and American companies.” The State Department is also taking aim at the UK’s Online Safety Act, which requires age verification on sites hosting adult material.
Transatlantic tensions are high: Washington’s recently released strategy document seemed to disparage the US-Europe alliance, the two sides disagree over the route to peace in Ukraine, and President Donald Trump called European leaders “weak.”