The U.S. State Department declined to comment on a report it could sanction EU officials over the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which the Trump administration has labeled “censorship.”
The administration and some of its allies in the tech sector have launched various attacks on the DSA, the EU’s flagship social media platform regulation, calling it “Orwellian.” The U.S. government also claims that aspects of the DSA would impose costs on domestic companies.
Reuters reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources, that sanctions are being considered in the form of visa restrictions, and that U.S. officials conducted internal meetings on the topic last week.
POLITICO could not independently verify all the information in the Reuters report. Responding to a request for clarification from POLITICO, a State Department spokesperson said Monday: “We are monitoring increasing censorship in Europe with great concern but have no further information to provide at this time.”
Reuters did not identify which EU or member country officials could find themselves in the firing line, and said no final decision on going ahead with the measures has been made.
The Digital Services Act regulates online platforms, like social media and e-commerce, as well as search engines. Those with more than 45 million users in the EU, including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and X, have to follow strict rules about assessing and mitigating important risks, like the spread of misinformation and harm to minors.
But U.S. Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, have said the law institutionalizes a censorship regime that stifles free speech.
The State Department has launched a campaign against the regulation. The spokesperson noted that in May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced visa restrictions to bar “foreign nationals who censor Americans” from entering the country.
The European Commission is in charge of implementing the regulation on very large platforms, with national regulators taking responsibility for their respective countries.
Concessions from the EU on the DSA, which the White House was reportedly pushing for, did not materialize in the EU-U.S. trade deal.
The European Commission and several national regulators did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
Joe Stanley-Smith and Alice Taylor contributed to this report.
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