The United States has imposed visa bans on five European figures involved in efforts to regulate online speech, a move the Trump administration says is necessary to defend free expression and prevent foreign interference in American public debate.

The visa restrictions, announced Tuesday, apply to former European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton, Center for Countering Digital Hate chief executive Imran Ahmed, Global Disinformation Index chief executive Clare Melford, and HateAid leaders Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon. U.S. officials allege the individuals were involved in coordinated efforts to pressure American social media companies to suppress viewpoints protected under U.S. law.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would no longer tolerate what it views as attempts by European activists and regulators to impose speech restrictions beyond their own jurisdictions. In a statement posted to X, Rubio accused the five of leading “organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” describing the actions as a form of extraterritorial censorship.

“For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” Rubio said. He added that the State Department was prepared to expand the list if such efforts continued.

Central to the dispute is the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), legislation designed to force large online platforms to police content deemed to be misinformation, hate speech, or harmful material. Thierry Breton, a former EU internal market commissioner, was a key architect of the law. While the EU argues the DSA is aimed at making the internet safer, critics in the United States say its vague standards risk suppressing lawful political speech and disproportionately target American technology companies and users.

The U.S. government maintains that the DSA and related campaigns by European advocacy groups effectively pressure U.S.-based platforms to adopt speech standards that conflict with the First Amendment. According to Reuters, Washington argues that the law unfairly burdens American firms and exports European speech norms into the U.S. information environment.

The UK Government responded to the decision, saying it supports free speech while also backing efforts to curb harmful online content. A government spokesperson said that while countries are entitled to set their own visa policies, the UK supports laws aimed at preventing the spread of child sexual abuse material, incitement to violence, and deliberately misleading or manipulated content.

European leaders, however, strongly criticised the U.S. move. The European Commission condemned the visa bans and warned it could respond to defend what it described as its regulatory autonomy. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said freedom of expression is a foundational European value and insisted the EU’s regulatory framework reflects democratic choices made within its member states.

France also objected. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the Digital Services Act was adopted through a democratic process and claimed it has no extraterritorial reach. He criticised the U.S. decision to bar Breton and the other four individuals, arguing that Europe must remain sovereign over its own digital rules.

Supporters of the U.S. decision argue the issue is not whether Europe can regulate its own online space, but whether European regulators and advocacy groups should be able to influence or constrain lawful speech on American platforms. They say visa restrictions are a legitimate response to what Washington sees as mounting pressure on U.S. companies to enforce foreign speech codes.

The dispute comes amid broader tensions between Washington and Brussels over free speech, digital governance, and the role of large technology platforms. It also follows recent warnings in a U.S. national security strategy document that raised concerns about Europe’s political direction and its reliability as a long-term strategic partner.

The efforts reflect a sentiment previously voiced by Vice President JD Vance: no U.S. support without U.S. values.