The US government has imposed entry bans on two German activists against online hate speech. The founder and managing director of the non-profit organization are affected by the sanctions
Berlin organization HateAidAnna-Lena von Hodenberg, and co-managing director Josephine Ballon, as the Foreign Ministry in Washington announced on Tuesday. President Donald Trump’s government accuses them of “censorship” on the Internet.
Also the former EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton becomes an undesirable person in the USA explains, as Secretary of State Sarah Rogers wrote in the online service X. The Frenchman Breton was responsible for EU digital laws under Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen until September 2024. They require large US internet companies such as Google, Meta, Apple and X to delete “illegal content”. Also affected by US entry bans are the British NGO representatives Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford, who campaign against online hate and disinformation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
described those sanctioned in the online service X as “leading players in the global censorship industrial complex.” He threatened other European officials with being added to the black list.
Rubio wrote that “ideologues in Europe” are forcing US internet platforms to punish unpopular opinions. “The Trump administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,” he added.
The German organization HateAid was founded in 2018 and says it is committed to combating digital violence and prosecuting hate crimes on the internet. She is working with the EU on this.
