[NY Post] The State Department is barring five "egregious" European figures in the "global censorship-industrial complex" from entering the US, it revealed Tuesday.State Department officials contended that those five Europeans flouted a visa policy rolled out in May restricting those who work to censor protected speech in the US from entering the country.
"For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose," Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Tuesday.
"The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship. Today, [the State Department] will take steps to bar leading figures of the global censorship-industrial complex from entering the United States."
"We stand ready and willing to expand this list if others do not reverse course."
The five Europeans blocked from entering the US are: former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton; Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Clare Melford, who is in charge of the Global Disinformation Index; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders at the Germany-based HateAid.
Sarah Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, revealed the five Europeans being blocked on Tuesday.
"Our message is clear: if you spend your career fomenting censorship of American speech, you’re unwelcome on American soil," she posted on X.
"Our targets are foreign, but you’ll notice that some collaborated with U.S. bureaucrats on Murthy-style speech suppression. Don’t worry: we’re pursuing transparency, truth, and reconciliation at the [State Department] too."