On December 24, 2025, the Trump administration barred five Europeans, including ex-EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, from the US, citing their roles in the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) as threats to American free speech on social media platforms. This is the first in a series covering the bans and reactions. (Updated coverage available.)
The US government imposed travel bans on five European figures central to digital regulation and hate speech monitoring under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). Leading the list is Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner for Internal Markets, dubbed the 'mastermind' behind the DSA by US Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers. Breton had warned Elon Musk about X's noncompliance with rules on illegal content and disinformation.
Others banned: Imran Ahmed (Center for Countering Digital Hate, UK), which pushed deplatforming US anti-vaxxers like incoming HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Clare Melford (Global Disinformation Index, UK), which rates online content risks; and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon (HateAid, Germany), DSA 'trusted flaggers' reporting hate speech.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated: '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.'
The bans align US tech interests against EU pressures, per reports. Europeans reacted strongly: Global Disinformation Index called it 'an authoritarian attack on free speech'; HateAid's von Hodenberg and Ballon deemed it 'a new escalation questioning European sovereignty.'
This marks escalating US-EU divides on content moderation. Further developments, including detailed reactions from leaders like Macron and organizations, covered in subsequent series articles.
