EU Could Retaliate to ‘Unwarranted’ US Visa Bans, Official Says

The EU might “respond swiftly and decisively” against what it deems “unjustified” visa bans issued by the US against five Europeans working on combating digital hatred and disinformation, an EU official has said.

European Leaders Decry US Action as ‘Intimidation’

Officials from Europe including Emmanuel Macron charged Washington of “bullying and threats”, after the travel bans targeted figures that were central to efforts to introduce laws governing American tech companies.

“For far too long, European activists have led coordinated campaigns to coerce US companies to suppress US perspectives they oppose,” wrote a senior US official in a social media post. “This government will not stand for these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.”

Widespread Condemnation Across Europe

Nations including Germany, Spain, and the UK, alongside numerous EU representatives supported the French president in condemning the decision.

The bans were enacted this week against an ex-European commissioner who helped draft the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), as well as four activists fighting false information, from two in Germany and two in the UK.

A Deepening Dispute Over Regulation

The DSA is seen by Washington as a type of speech restriction, while EU authorities argue the rules are essential to control hate speech and disinformation.

This row threatens to become part of a far wider existing political and ideological clash between Washington and Europe.

Additional Updates in the News

In other judicial news:

• A US district judge has blocked attempts to cut security grants to local governments which resist certain immigration enforcement policies. The official stated the case was “a further instance” of tying government assistance to policy compliance.
• Authorization was issued for the dispatch of hundreds of national guard troops to New Orleans prior to the holiday period, coinciding with an ongoing immigration enforcement operation.
• The nation of Palau has agreed to take in a limited number of individuals from the US in exchange for additional aid, following signing a memorandum of understanding with US authorities.

Additionally, a Democratic lawmaker has filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of the current president’s name from a well-known cultural institution in the capital.

Analysts point out that comments regarding Venezuelan oil align with a wider ideology in some quarters of “economic expansionism”, leading to parallels with historical international strategies.