Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The United States imposed travel bans on former European Union technology commissioner Thierry Breton and four other campaigners against online hate and disinformation, alleging they had forced U.S. social media platforms to limit Americans' first amendment rights.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Tuesday that the five had "led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize and suppress" the views of Americans with whom they disagreed.
"These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states -- in each case targeting American speakers and American companies," added Rubio who described the five as "agents of the global censorship-industrial complex."
Beton was singled out by U.S. Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers as the "mastermind" of European laws that require social media that operate in the 27-country bloc to adhere to content moderation and other standards to protect users, and children in particular, from harm.
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