The five Europeans are being identified as "radical activists" by the United States, and are accused of trying to influence American tech companies to censor or prevent the spread of American positions.
Several of the individuals identified work in organizations whose stated goal is to counter disinformation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio writes on X that "for too long, ideologies in Europe have led organized efforts to force American (social) platforms to punish American positions they disapprove of."
Thierry Breton, a former EU commissioner and French finance minister, is one of those affected by the decision. He calls the action a “witch hunt” and compares the situation to the so-called McCarthy era in the United States, when officials were hounded out of the state apparatus for alleged links to communism.
Breton is described by the US State Department as the “mastermind” behind the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a piece of legislation that imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe.
Other people denied entry to the US are Imram Ahmed, who heads a think tank that wants to prevent hate online, Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg of the independent German organization Hateaid, and Clare Melford, who heads the investigative organization Global Disinformation Index.
