Secretary Marco Rubio holds a press availability in Brussels, Belgium, April 4, 2025. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)
The US Department of State, under the direction of Marco Rubio, has taken a rare and decisive step against European political figures accused of acting against American interests, barring several prominent individuals who’ve sought to censor free and open dialogue on American platforms.
The bold move signals a sharp and definitive break from years of deference—and even subservience—to Brussels’ ever-increasing, draconian regulatory ambitions.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio rightly framed the action as a defense of American free speech against what he described as organized, ideological pressure from abroad. He made it crystal clear that the era of tolerating overseas attempts to silence U.S. voices and American positions is over.
In a post on X, Rubio Wrote: “For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.
For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.
Today, @StateDept will take steps to…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) December 23, 2025
At the center of the dispute is Europe’s effort to export its anti-free speech beyond its borders. U.S. officials say certain European activists and former officials crossed a red line by targeting American companies and users.
‘To censor Americans in America is a deal breaker.’
US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Sarah Rogers, blasts the proposed Online Safety Act, saying the law ‘vastly overreaches’ into other countries, calling it a ‘red line’.
Freeview 236, Sky 512, Virgin 6 pic.twitter.com/aB1PzOkYop
— GB News (@GBNEWS) December 4, 2025
The initial action, banning entry into the US, sets its sights on five individuals tied to left-globalist activist NGOs and EU regulatory efforts. Washington says their activities created real foreign-policy risks by attempting to dictate what Americans—and others—can say online on US-based platforms.
The five Europeans are: Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a globalist German NGO; Clare Melford, chief of the Global Disinformation Index; and former EU Digital Affairs Commissioner Thierry Breton.
Rather than regulating U.S. platforms directly, the administration chose a blunt but effective tool: immigration law. Those designated are barred from entering the country and could face removal if already present.
One of the most prominent figures banned from entering US territory is arch globalist and former EU digital chief Thierry Breton, a key architect of Europe’s online anti-free speech regime. U.S. officials say he played an instrumental role in threatening American platforms over content that displeased EU authorities.
That regime is embodied in the Digital Services Act, a sweeping law that forces platforms to police “harmful” content under threat of massive fines. Critics, of which there are many, insist that the law is deliberately vague and ripe for ideological abuse.
The clash intensified after Breton warned Elon Musk over hosting an online interview with President Trump and AfD co-leader Alice Weidel. To the US, that warning epitomized globalist Europe’s attempt to control political discourse on American platforms.
European officials rushed to defend themselves, insisting their rules have no reach beyond EU borders. But American policymakers point out that when fines and threats target U.S. firms, the impact is unmistakably global.
The European Commission—overwhelmingly controlled by globalists-aligned figures—has already begun enforcing the DSA, issuing its first major fine against a US-based platform.
Musk’s X was hit with a roughly $140 million fine over alleged violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). That action has drawn warnings of possible U.S. trade retaliation.
For the Trump administration, this fight is about sovereignty as much as speech. Allowing unelected EU bureaucrats, who are openly hostile to their own populations, to shape American debate is viewed as incompatible with democratic self-government.
Supporters of the move say it exposes the reality of a global censorship industry, where globalist activist NGOs and government regulators work hand in glove.They argue these groups hide behind the language of “safety” to suppress dissenting—and more often than not, conservative—opinions.
The visa restrictions are part of a broader shift toward confronting globalists attempting to suffocate free expression and conservative voices head-on. Similar policies are being applied to actors from other regions accused of undermining U.S. interests.
The European Union’s deeply out-of-touch political class, increasingly seen as illegitimate among the European population, has responded with predictable outrage, portraying the decision as hostile and unjustified
Ultimately, the confrontation underscores a widening divide between America’s free-speech tradition and Europe’s top-down, increasingly managerial—and even authoritarian—politics. By drawing this line, Washington is signaling that American values will not be subordinated to EU’s globalist ideology.
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