WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the US will no longer allow foreign government officials “who are complicit in censoring Americans” from obtaining visas.
“It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil,” Rubio said in a statement.
“It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States,” he added.
“We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech.”
It was not immediately clear which foreign officials would come under threat of having visas revoked.
Rubio’s announcement comes one day after the State Department ordered US embassies and consulates to halt processing of student visa applications from foreigners, with a revised procedure reportedly set to consider social media postings and other information.
At least 4,000 student visas have already been yanked away from international students with criminal histories, a senior State Department official told The Post last month, in addition to high-profile cases involving anti-Israel protesters on college campuses being rushed into removal proceedings.
During President Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, the family of a 75-year-old American detained in the Gulf nation over critical tweets of the Riyadh government petitioned the US to secure his release.
Saad Almadi, a US-Saudi dual citizen, was initially sentenced to 19 years in prison for tweeting criticisms of the Saudi government from his home in Florida, has since been released — but is banned from leaving the country to return to America.
“He tried to go to Dubai two months ago [in March] and they said, ‘You are banned from traveling, contact the Ministry of Interior.’ And when he contacted the Ministry of Interior, they told him, ‘Saad, you are still facing a trial and you are still under travel ban for 19 years,’” his son, Ibrahim Almadi, told The Post.
“Basically in court they said the charges are dropped and now they are refusing to let him travel. They said, ‘No, the charges are still there, they aren’t dropped.’ It’s just a miserable court system.”
Trump’s media empire and Rumble have also challenged a Brazilian Supreme Court ruling that they claimed earlier this year would “censor legitimate political discourse in the United States.”
The State Department and White House have also been closely watching a UK court case involving a Tory councillor’s wife sentenced in October to 31 months in prison over a social media post judged racially hateful, The Telegraph reported.
Lucy Connolly, who is married to Northampton councillor Ray Connolly, called for “mass deportation” after an Al Qaeda -supporting teen stabbed three young girls to death and wounded 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last summer.
The “sadistic” slaying, prosecutors said, was carried out by Axel Rudakubana — and sparked a week of riots due to internet rumors that the UK teen was a Rwandan migrant.
Rudakubana, who was born and raised in Wales by Rwandan parents, was sentenced in January to 13 counts of life in prison and ordered to serve a minimum of 52 years.
Connolly later deleted her post calling for deportations and setting “fire” to hotels. A judge rejected an appeal for her to receive a commuted sentence.
Last Saturday, US officials also met with UK pro-life activists regarding censorship fears, according to The Telegraph.
Vice President JD Vance warned European officials about their speech restriction efforts in February during an appearance at the Munich Security Conference.
“You cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail,” Vance scolded leaders at one point.
The vice president in his address further highlighted moves by the EU Commission to suppress social media posts deemed “hateful” and the persecution of Christians silently praying outside abortion clinics in the UK.
“The government urged readers to report any fellow citizens suspected guilty of thoughtcrime in Britain and across Europe,” he said. “Free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”
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