Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) has described the US sanctions against the managing directors of the HateAid organization and other European activists against online hate speech as “unacceptable”.
The US government had the managing directors of HateAid, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon, subject to entry bans and classified them as “radical activists.” This was justified by alleged censorship coming from HateAid. HateAid is a “censor” under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and regularly demands access to data from social media platforms “in order to be able to censor it more,” according to a post by US Secretary of State Sarah Rogers on X.
The DSA is an EU lawwhich requires social media platforms to delete illegal content. Wadephul wrote that the DSA ensures that anything that is illegal offline is also illegal online. The law was passed democratically and does not have an extraterritorial effect.
This is also about the US entry ban former French EU Commissioner Thierry Breton affected, who is considered the architect of the DSA. Also sanctioned were Imran Ahmed, founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, and Clare Melford, founder of the Global Disinformation Index.
EU Commission asks US authorities for clarification
Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig (SPD) assured the HateAid managers of the support of the federal government. HateAid supports those affected by illegal digital hate speech and makes an important contribution to protecting personal rights in the digital space, said Hubig. “Anyone who calls this censorship is misrepresenting our constitutional system.”
Also the European Commission condemned the entry bans imposed by the USA. A spokesman said the EU had asked US authorities for clarification. If necessary, we will “respond quickly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures.” French President Emmanuel Macron described the Sanctions as intimidation and coercion. We will continue to defend digital sovereignty and regulatory autonomy together with the EU Commission and European partners.
The HateAid managing directors von Hodenberg and Ballon announced that they wanted to continue their work “with all their might” despite the sanctions. “We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by a government that uses accusations of censorship to silence those who stand up for human rights and freedom of expression,” it said in a statement. The entry ban is an “act of repression” by a government “that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law and trying to silence its critics with all its severity.”
