The US State Department on Tuesday said it would deny visas to former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and four others in protest of European regulation of social media. 

The measure comes amid increasing tensions between the US and the Europe, with President Donald Trump's adminstration accusing Brussels of cracking down on freedoms. 

Besides Breton, the US visa ban targets: 

• Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of the German NGO HateAid
• Imran Ahmed, the British CEO of the US-based Center for Countering Digital Hate
• Clare ​Melford, co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI)

Why is the US denying their visas?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the five people targeted with visa bans "have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize and suppress American viewpoints they oppose."

He did not initially name those facing the visa ban, but Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers later identified them in a post on social media. 

Rogers described Breton as the "mastermind" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe.

The State Department said HateAid functions as a trusted flagger for enforcing the DSA.

What was the reaction?

Breton decried the ban as a "witch hunt."

"To our American friends: Censorship isn't where you think it is," he wrote in a post on X. 

The GDI called the US action "immoral, unlawful, and un-American" and "an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship."

The French government also condemned the move.

"France strongly condemns the visa restriction imposed by the United States on Thierry Breton, ‌former minister and European Commissioner, and four other European figures," French Foreign ‌Minister ⁠Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery