Paris (Parliament Politics Magazine) – EU warns US of possible action after banning visas for Clare Melford and four Europeans, escalating tensions over digital laws and sovereignty.
As reported by Patrick Wintour of The Guardian, French President Emmanuel Macron accused the US of “coercion and intimidation” after Washington barred five Europeans involved in regulating American tech firms.
Which Europeans face US visa bans over digital regulation work?
On Tuesday, December 23, the US imposed visa restrictions on Thierry Breton, former EU commissioner and a key architect of the Digital Services Act, along with four anti-disinformation campaigners from Germany and the UK.
The visa ban also targeted Imran Ahmed, British head of the Center for Countering Digital Hate; Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of Germany’s HateAid; and Clare Melford, co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index.
How did Emmanuel Macron and EU leaders respond to the US visa restrictions?
Commenting on the Washington visa restriction, French President Macron said,
“These measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.”
He added,
“The European Union’s digital regulations were adopted following a democratic and sovereign process by the European Parliament and the Council. They apply within Europe to ensure fair competition among platforms, without targeting any third country, and to ensure that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. The rules governing the European Union’s digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe.”
The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said,
“The peoples of Europe are free and sovereign and cannot let the rules governing their digital space be imposed by others upon them.”
A European Commission spokesperson said,
“If needed, we will respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures.”
Germany’s Justice Minister said the two German campaigners have the government’s “full support and solidarity,” calling the visa bans unacceptable and highlighting HateAid’s work assisting victims of illegal online hate.
It added in a statement,
“Anyone who describes this as censorship is misrepresenting our constitutional system. The rules by which we want to live in the digital space in Germany and in Europe are not decided in Washington.”
Dennis Radtke, an MEP and member of the German ruling CDU, said,
“The Trump fans in Europe defend this as a fight for freedom of speech. Where exactly has an opinion been suppressed? Where is the fight for freedom of speech with regard to China and Russia? It’s only about business here and the fight against the rule of law.”
Raphaël Glucksmann, a French socialist MEP, said in a message to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
“For far too long, Europe has been weak in implementing its own laws and defending its own interests. You have chosen to cosy up tyrants and confront democracies. The time has come for us to stand up. Kneel as much as you want in front of Putin, we are the free world now.”
He added,
“We are not a colony of the United States. We are Europeans, we must defend our laws, our principles, our interests. This scandalous sanction against Thierry Breton pays tribute to his fight for our sovereignty. We will continue it together. To the end.”
Michel Duclos, former senior French diplomat and senior fellow at the Institut Montaigne, criticized the visa ban, referencing Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev’s recent trip to Miami for talks on the Ukraine war.
He said,
“Dmitriev celebrated in Miami, Breton denied US visa: Europe is becoming the new Russia for Washington. It brings to mind the 1920s – America favouring the former enemy [Germany) against its former allies – but worse.”
Mika Beuster, chair of the German Journalists’ Association, voiced solidarity with the Berlin-based organisation HateAid.
He added,
“This is censorship in its purest form, the likes of which we have previously only known from autocratic regimes.”
Thierry Breton, who served as France’s finance minister and as European Commissioner for the Internal Market from 2019 to 2024, and is facing a US visa ban, said,
“Is McCarthy’s witch-hunt back?”
He added,
“As a reminder: 90% of the European parliament – our democratically elected body – and all 27 member states unanimously voted the DSA. To our American friends: censorship isn’t where you think it is.”
Stéphane Séjourné, a French politician and the European Commission’s executive vice-president, replaced Mr Breton in the EU’s internal market post.
He expressed support for his predecessor, saying,
“No sanction will silence the sovereignty of the European peoples. Total solidarity with him and all the people of Europe affected by this.”
How has the Digital Services Act become a flashpoint in US-Europe tensions?
According to the EU, the main goal is to secure the digital space by requiring tech companies to tackle illegal content, from hate speech to child sexual abuse material.
Defending the visa restrictions, Marco Rubio said,
For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organised efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.”
The US views the DSA as censorship, while EU allies argue the rules are necessary, with the dispute risking escalation into a broader rift between President Donald Trump’s administration and Europe. AI and digital technologies have long been expected to emerge as key arenas of confrontation between the US and Europe, as their role in shaping power continues to expand.
The US visa restrictions follow the EU’s €120 million fine on Elon Musk’s X platform for breaching digital content rules.
What is the EU Digital Services Act?
The DSA was introduced as part of the EU’s digital strategy to create a safer and more accountable online environment across its 27 member states. It officially entered into force in November 2022.
The act gives citizens more control, including easier ways to report illegal content, clear explanations for content moderation, and the right to appeal decisions.
It also restricted targeted ads to minors and those based on sensitive data like race or religion, while requiring the largest platforms to offer a non-personalized “feed” option.