By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK-The Trump administration is under fire from EU leaders Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s labeling of five prominent Europeans as “radical activists” – denying them visas to visit the U.S. The five include the EU Commissioner responsible for supervising social media rules, Thierry Breton; Imran Ahmed the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of the German organization HateAid and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index. The five were affected by a new visa policy announced in May 2025 that bars entry to foreigners accused of censoring protected speech in the United States. Rubio claimed the five people, advanced foreign government censorship campaigns against Americans and U.S. companies that created “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron reacted by saying the visa restrictions “amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.” Macron posted on X that the EU’s digital rules were adopted by “a democratic and sovereign process” with all member countries participating including the European Parliament.
The European Union’s executive branch warned it will respond to any “unjustified measures” with a spokesperson for the commission saying: “Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Europe and a shared core value with the United States across the democratic world.” The European Commission supervises tech regulation in Europe and said it has requested clarification about Rubio’s actions. The commission stated that it strongly “condemns” the U.S. decision. Germany’s justice ministry said that it supports the two German activists with its “support and solidarity.” The ministry said in a statement: “Anyone who describes this as censorship is misrepresenting our constitutional system,” adding “The rules by which we want to live in the digital space in Germany and in Europe are not decided in Washington.” Meanwhile, a Global Disinformation Index spokesperson said the visa bans constituted “an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship.” The organization added: “The Trump administration is, once again, using the full weight of the federal government to intimidate, censor, and silence voices they disagree with.” They added: “Their actions today, are immoral, unlawful and un-American.”
