PARIS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- France on Wednesday strongly condemned visa restrictions imposed by the United States on Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner for the Internal Market, and four other European figures.
"These measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty," French President Emmanuel Macron said on his X account.
U.S. officials on Tuesday announced visa restrictions on five individuals from the European Union (EU) and Britain, alleging their involvement in content censorship on U.S. social media platforms, according to a statement released by the U.S. State Department.
U.S. diplomats have voiced opposition to the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark regulation designed to tackle hate speech, misinformation and disinformation. Washington argues that the legislation restricts free expression and places additional compliance burdens on U.S. technology companies.
"The rules governing the European Union's digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe. Together with the European Commission and our European partners, we will continue to defend our digital sovereignty and regulatory autonomy," Macron added.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X that the Digital Services Act was democratically adopted in Europe to ensure that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. He stressed that the law has no extraterritorial reach and does not affect the United States.
According to U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers, the visa restrictions also apply to Imran Ahmed, a British citizen and chief executive of the U.S.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate; Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon from the German non-profit organization HateAid; and Clare Melford, a co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index.
"The State Department is taking decisive action against five individuals who have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize and suppress American viewpoints they oppose," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the statement, without naming the individuals.
Breton responded on X by asking, "Is McCarthy's witch hunt back?" He noted that 90 percent of the European Parliament, the EU's democratically elected body, along with all 27 member states, voted in favor of the DSA.
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