EU, France, Germany slam US sanctions against five Europeans

The European Union, France and Germany condemned U.S. visa bans on European citizens combating online hate and disinformation, with Brussels saying on Wednesday it could "respond swiftly and decisively" against the "unjustified measures." A European Commission spokesperson said it "strongly condemns the U.S. decision," adding: "Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Europe and a shared core value with the United States across the democratic world."

France has condemned a U.S. visa ban on Thierry Breton, a former European Union commissioner who helped drive landmark online regulation that Washington believes censors free speech and unfairly targets U.S. tech giants. The Trump administration imposed visa bans on Breton, one of the architects of the EU’s Digital Services Act, DSA and other anti-disinformation campaigners, it says, who were involved in censoring U.S. social media platforms. French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said these measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty. Germany’s Justice Ministry said the two German activists had the government’s support and solidarity, and the visa bans on them were unacceptable.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the DSA was approved in a democratic process and had no extraterritorial reach and in no way affects the United States. Breton was the European commissioner for the internal market from 2019 to 2024.Breton is not the first French person to be sanctioned by the Trump administration. In August, Washington sanctioned French judge Nicolas Yann Guillou, who sits on the International Criminal Court, for the tribunal's targeting of Israeli leaders and a past decision to investigate U.S. officials.

The bans also targeted Imran Ahmed, the British CEO of the U.S.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate; Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of the German non-profit HateAid; and Clare Melford, co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index, according to U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the five people targeted with visa bans "have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize and suppress American viewpoints they oppose." "These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states — in each case targeting American speakers and American companies," Rubio said in an announcement.