BRUSSELS — The European Union, France and Germany condemned US visa bans on five Europeans combating online hate and disinformation on Wednesday, after the US administration took its latest swipe at the long-standing allies across the Atlantic.

Washington imposed visa bans on Tuesday on five European citizens, including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton. It accuses them of working to censor freedom of speech or unfairly target US tech giants with burdensome regulations.

The bans mark a fresh escalation against Europe, a region Washington argues is fast becoming irrelevant due to its weak defenses, inability to tackle immigration, needless red tape and "censorship" of far-right and nationalist voices to keep them from power.

US Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers has described Breton, who left the European Commission in 2024, as "a mastermind" of the EU Digital Services Act, or DSA.

In response, the EU warned it would act "swiftly and decisively" to defend the bloc's regulatory autonomy if needed. "Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Europe and a shared core value with the United States across the democratic world," a commission spokesperson said in an attributable response to Xinhua.

The spokesperson stressed that the EU retains the sovereign right to regulate economic activity in line with its democratic values and international commitments.

The EU's digital rules are designed to ensure "a safe, fair, and level playing field for all companies," and are applied fairly and without discrimination, the spokesperson said, adding that the commission has requested clarifications from US authorities and remains engaged.

Stephane Sejourne, the executive vice-president for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, strongly defended Breton, calling him a prominent driver of the DSA framework.

Vowing to press ahead with online content scrutiny, Sejourne said in a post on social platform X,"No sanction will silence the sovereignty of the European peoples."

'Coercion tactics'

Other European countries also backed the EU on the tech regulations. "These measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty," French President Emmanuel Macron said on his X account.

In his post on X, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described the US entry bans as "not acceptable". "The DSA was democratically adopted by the EU," he added.

Spain's foreign ministry also condemned the measures, saying in a statement: "A safe digital space, free from illegal content and disinformation, is a fundamental value for democracy in Europe and a responsibility for everyone."

Breton, a former French finance minister and the European commissioner for internal market from 2019 to 2024, was one of the architects of the EU's Digital Services Act.

A landmark piece of legislation, the DSA aims to make the internet safer by compelling tech giants to do more to tackle illegal content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material.

But the DSA has riled the US administration, which accuses the EU of placing "undue" restrictions on freedom of expression in its efforts to combat hateful speech, misinformation and disinformation. It also argues that the DSA unfairly targets US tech giants and US citizens.

US officials were particularly upset earlier this month when Brussels sanctioned Elon Musk's X platform, fining it 120 million euros ($140 million) for breaching online content rules. Musk and Breton have often sparred online over EU tech regulation, with Musk referring to him as the "tyrant of Europe".

Breton, the most high-profile individual targeted, described the latest measures as a political "witch hunt". In a post on X, he said, "To our American friends: 'Censorship isn't where you think it is'."

The visa ban also targeted Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that fights online misinformation, and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, a German organization.

Agencies - Xinhua