The EU might “act quickly and firmly” in response to what it calls “unjustified” travel bans imposed by the US against five European individuals working on combating online hate and disinformation, an EU official has said.
European Leaders Decry US Move as ‘Intimidation’
Officials from Europe including the French president charged Washington of “coercion and intimidation”, following the visa restrictions targeted individuals who have been at the heart of campaigns to introduce legislation regulating American tech companies.
“For too long, ideologues in Europe have spearheaded organised efforts to coerce American platforms to suppress American viewpoints they disagree with,” stated the US secretary of state in a social media post. “The current administration will no longer tolerate such actions of extraterritorial censorship.”
Widespread Condemnation Across Europe
Germany, Spain, the UK and a chorus of EU officials supported the French president in condemning the move.
The bans were imposed this week on a former EU commissioner who helped draft the bloc’s digital governance law, along with four activists fighting false information, from Germany and the United Kingdom.
A Deepening Dispute Regarding Governance
This European legislation is seen by Washington as a type of speech restriction, while European leaders argue the rules are necessary to control hate speech and falsehoods.
This disagreement risks becoming a facet of a far wider existing political and ideological clash between Washington and Europe.
Additional Updates in the News
In related judicial developments:
- A US district judge has blocked attempts to reduce security grants to states which resist certain immigration enforcement policies. The judge stated the case was “a further instance” of linking federal aid to policy compliance.
- Approval was given for the dispatch of 350 national guard members to a major US city ahead of the holiday period, alongside an ongoing immigration enforcement operation.
- The nation of Palau has agreed to accept a limited number of migrants from the US in return for additional aid, following concluding a memorandum of understanding with US authorities.
Furthermore, a congressional representative has initiated legal action to demand the removal of a political figure’s name from a prominent cultural institution in Washington DC.
Experts have also noted that recent statements regarding foreign petroleum resources align with a broader belief in some quarters of “resource imperialism”, leading to parallels with past foreign policy actions.
