The United States has denied visas to two British campaigners, among five individuals, accusing them of attempting to “coerce” American tech companies into suppressing free speech. The move has sparked condemnation from European leaders.

Imran Ahmed, head of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, CEO of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), are the British nationals affected. Both were previously labelled “radical activists” by the Trump administration.

According to the US State Department, the visa denials also target a former French EU commissioner, Thierry Breton, and two senior figures from the German anti-online hate group, HateAid – Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon. The US alleges these individuals are part of a “global censorship-industrial complex.”

The UK government has stated it is “fully committed” to upholding free speech, adding, “While every country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions which are working to keep the internet free from the most harmful content,” a spokesperson said.

French President Emmanuel Macron strongly criticised the ban, describing it as “intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, labelled the action “unacceptable and an attempt to challenge our sovereignty.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the US decision, stating, “President Trump has been clear that his America First foreign policy rejects violations of American sovereignty. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors targeting American speech is no exception.”

The CCDH, led by Ahmed, advocates for government action against hate speech and disinformation online. Ahmed previously served as an aide to Labour minister Hilary Benn, and has links to senior figures within the Labour party. The US government has accused Ahmed of collaborating with the Biden administration.

“The visa sanctions announced today are an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship,” a GDI spokesperson told the BBC. “The Trump Administration is, once again, using the full weight of the federal government to intimidate, censor, and silence voices they disagree with. Their actions today are immoral, unlawful, and un-American.”

Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner, described the situation as a “witch hunt.” He was instrumental in the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates content moderation on social media platforms, and has publicly clashed with Elon Musk, owner of X, over compliance with EU rules. The European Commission recently imposed a €120m (£105m) fine on X for breaches of the DSA.

Breton reacted to the visa ban on X, posting: “To our American friends: Censorship isn’t where you think it is.”

HateAid’s CEOs, von Hodenberg and Ballon, also condemned the decision, calling it “an act of repression by a government that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law and trying to silence its critics by any means necessary.” They affirmed their commitment to defending human rights and freedom of expression.

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