The UK Government said it is “fully committed to upholding the right to free speech”, after the head of a campaign group aimed at preventing the spread of online hate and disinformation was barred from entering the United States.
Chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) Imran Ahmed, who is from Manchester and has links to senior Labour figures, is one of five Europeans sanctioned by the US.
A UK Government spokesman said: “The UK is fully committed to upholding the right to free speech.
“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.
“Social media platforms should not be used to disseminate child sex abuse material, incite hatred and violence, or spread fake information and videos for that purpose.”
Elon Musk has previously declared “war” on the CCDH, describing it as a “criminal organisation”.
Mr Ahmed replied by telling The Guardian they were going to continue their work “tirelessly”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused five Europeans of leading “efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose”.
Thierry Breton, the former European Union commissioner who oversaw digital affairs, and two leaders of German organisation HateAid, Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, were also barred from entering the country.
Chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) Imran Ahmed, who is from Manchester and has links to senior Labour figures, is one of five Europeans sanctioned by the US
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PA
Clare Melford, a British-based executive who runs the Global Disinformation Index, completes the list.
The names were revealed by Sarah Rogers, the Under-Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, after Mr Rubio declined.
Instead, he described them as “radical” activists and “weaponised” non-governmental organisations who had violated a visa policy introduced in May targeting foreigners responsible for censoring protected speech in America.
“For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organised efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose,” Mr Rubio said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced five ‘radical’ activists had been barred from entering the United States
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REUTERS
“The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship.”
The move forms part of a broader administration effort to combat foreign influence over online discourse, deploying immigration law as its primary tool rather than platform regulations or sanctions.
Ms Rogers said: “None of those sanctioned is a current UK or EU official – however, we know that foreign government officials are actively targeting the United States.
“This week, the UK’s Liberal Democrats claimed President Trump’s national security strategy amounts to foreign interference by a hostile foreign state because it correctly identifies mass migration and decaying national sovereignty as existential European security concerns.”
The Lib Dems had accused the US administration of using “bullying tactics”, with foreign affairs spokesman Callum Miller adding that President Donald Trump “likes to dish it out but not to take criticism.”
“These sanctions are an attack on free speech and amount to bullying tactics. The Government must stand up for its citizens, not stay silent,” he said.
French president Emmanuel Macron also condemned the sanctions, accusing the US of “intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty”.
