US denies visa to French former EU commissioner over tech rules

"The US State Department said on Tuesday it would deny a visa to the French former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, plus four others, accusing them of "coercion" over European regulation of social media platforms. "These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states - in each case targeting American speakers and American companies," the department said in a statement announcing the sanctions."

"Breton was described by the State Department as the "mastermind" of the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), a major piece of legislation that imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X his country "strongly condemns" the visa restrictions, adding that Europe "cannot let the rules governing their digital space be imposed by others upon them"."

"The DSA stipulates that major platforms must explain content-moderation decisions, provide transparency for users and ensure researchers can carry out essential work, such as understanding how much children are exposed to dangerous content. The DSA has become a bitter rallying point for US conservatives who see it as a weapon of censorship against right-wing thought in Europe and beyond, an accusation the EU furiously denies."

The US State Department announced visa denials for Thierry Breton and four others, accusing them of coercion tied to European social-media regulation. The department characterized the targets as "radical activists and weaponized NGOs" that advanced censorship crackdowns targeting American speakers and companies. Breton was labeled the "mastermind" of the European Union's Digital Services Act, which requires major platforms to explain moderation decisions, increase transparency, and enable researchers to study harms such as child exposure to dangerous content. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot strongly condemned the visa restrictions, defended the DSA as democratically adopted and non-extraterritorial, and warned against outside imposition of digital rules. Breton called the ban a witch hunt and likened it to McCarthyism.

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