“Is the wind of McCarthyism blowing again? As a reminder: for DSA [unijnym Aktem o usługach cyfrowych] 90 percent voted. democratically elected European Parliament and the unanimous 27 EU member states,” wrote X Breton, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market from 2019 to 2024, on the platform. Addressing the Americans, he added that “censorship is not where you think.”
Why was Thierry Breton banned from entering the US?
What charges were brought against Thierry Breton?
Who else has been banned from entering the US?
How did the EU authorities react to the US decision?
The US Department of State on Tuesday announced the imposition of visa restrictions on five people. In addition to Breton, these are British citizens – Imran Ahmed, director of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and Clare Melford, founder of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) – as well as Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon from the German organization HateAid. The US ministry described these people as “radical activists” who want to force American internet platforms to accept censorship.
The Department of State accused Breton of being the originator of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates the operation of online platforms and search engines, including combating disinformation and ensuring the transparency of advertising, including political advertising.
Thierry Breton under US sanctions
The US decision was also criticized by GDI. “This is an authoritarian attack on freedom of speech and a shameless manifestation of state censorship,” the organization said in response to an inquiry from dpa. US President Donald Trump's administration wants to censor and silence “voices with which it disagrees” and its conduct is “immoral, unlawful and un-American,” it added.
Earlier, the entry ban for five people was condemned by, among others, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Antonio Costa, President of France Emmanuel Macron, the British government, as well as German Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul and German Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig.
Wadephul wrote on X that the ban is unacceptable, and the DSA was adopted democratically and does not apply outside the European Union. Hubig, quoted by dpa, stated that “it is not in Washington that decisions will be made about the rules according to which we want to operate on the Internet in Germany and Europe.”
