Trump administration bans five people from the United States for online content moderation

On Tuesday, the Trump administration implemented a threat of retaliation targeting foreigners involved in content moderation. The State Department announced sanctions denying the United States access to former European Commissioner Thierry Breton, as well as four researchers, while issuing a deliberately chilling threat to others, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming that “the State Department is ready and willing to expand today’s list if other foreign actors do not back down.”

One of the researchers the State Department says is now banned and deportable is Imran Ahmed, who runs the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an organization aimed at identifying and countering online hate speech that Elon Musk tried and failed to censor through a lawsuit that was dismissed in early 2024. In his decision, Justice Charles Breyer wrote that X about that.” others.”

Other researchers include Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Balon, leaders of HateAid, a non-profit that tried to sue

The press release announcing the sanctions is titled “Announcing Actions to Combat the Global Censorship Industrial Complex,” which is the alleged target of Republicans like House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, as they have worked against attempts to implement fact-checking and disinformation research on social networks. Earlier this month, Reuters It reported that the State Department had ordered US consulates to consider denials of H-1B visa applicants involved in content moderation, and a few days ago, the USTR threatened retaliation against European tech giants like Spotify and SAP over supposed “discriminatory” activity in regulating US tech platforms.