Imran Ahmed, a British national who heads the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), was among five European figures involved in tech regulation whom the US State Department said this week would be denied visas.
The department accused them of attempting to "coerce" US-based social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose. The European Union and several member states strongly condemned the move and vowed to defend Europe's regulatory autonomy.
The campaigner filed his complaint Wednesday in a New York district court against Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers, US Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Ahmed, a critic of billionaire Elon Musk, holds US permanent residency, commonly known as a "green card."
"I am proud to call the United States my home," he said in a statement. "My wife and daughter are American, and instead of spending Christmas with them, I am fighting to prevent my unlawful deportation from my home country."
Ahmed faces the "imminent prospect of unconstitutional arrest, punitive detention, and expulsion" from the United States, the court filing said.
However, a district judge granted a temporary restraining order barring Ahmed's arrest or detention, with a further hearing scheduled for Monday.
When reached for comment Thursday, the State Department expressed defiance.
"The Supreme Court and Congress have repeatedly made clear: the United States is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country or reside here," a spokesperson said.
Rogers said earlier that Ahmed was sanctioned because he was a "key collaborator" in efforts by former president Joe Biden's administration to "weaponize the government" against US citizens.
- 'Not be bullied' -
"My life's work is to protect children from the dangers of unregulated social media and AI and fight the spread of antisemitism online. That mission has pitted me against big tech executives -- and Elon Musk in particular -- multiple times," Ahmed said.
"I will not be bullied away from my life's work."
The crackdown also targeted former European commissioner Thierry Breton, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of the German nonprofit HateAid, and Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index.
Condemning the move, the European Commission said it was seeking clarification from Washington, and if needed "will respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures."
Breton, the EC's former top tech regulator, often clashed with tycoons including Musk -- a Trump ally -- over their obligations to follow EU rules.
The State Department has described him as the "mastermind" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe.
The DSA stipulates that major platforms must explain content-moderation decisions, provide transparency for users and ensure researchers can carry out essential work, such as understanding how much children are exposed to dangerous content.
But the act has become a bitter rallying point for US conservatives who see it as a weapon of censorship against right-wing thought in Europe and beyond, an accusation the EU furiously denies.
Ahmed's CCDH also frequently clashed with Musk, reporting a spike in misinformation and hate speech on X since the billionaire's 2022 takeover.
The European laws curbing big tech... and irking Trump
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Dec 24, 2025 -
The European Union is back in the crosshairs of the Trump administration over its tech rules, which Washington denounced as an attempt to "coerce" American social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose.
The US State Department said Tuesday it would deny visas to a former EU commissioner and four others, saying they "have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states -- in each case targeting American speakers and American companies".
Trump has vowed to punish countries that seek to curb US big tech firms.
Brussels has adopted a powerful legal arsenal aimed at reining in tech giants -- namely through its Digital Markets Act (DMA) which covers competition and the Digital Services Act (DSA) on content moderation.
The EU has already slapped heavy fines on US behemoths including Apple, Meta and X under the new rules.
Here is a look at the EU rules drawing Trump's ire:
- Digital Services Act -
Rolled out in stages since 2023, the mammoth Digital Services Act forces online firms to aggressively police content in the 27 countries of the European Union -- or face major fines.
Aimed at protecting consumers from disinformation and hate speech as well as counterfeit or dangerous goods, it obliges platforms to swiftly remove illegal content or make it inaccessible.
The law instructs platforms to suspend users who frequently share illegal content such as hate speech -- a provision framed as "censorship" by detractors across the Atlantic.
Tougher rules apply to a designated list of "very large" platforms that include US giants Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, Snapchat and X.
These giants must assess dangers linked to their services regarding illegal content and privacy, set up internal risk mitigation systems, and give regulators access to their data to verify compliance.
Violators can face fines of up to six percent of global turnover, and the EU has the power to ban offending platforms from Europe for repeated non-compliance.
Elon Musk's X was hit with the first fine under the DSA on December 5, a 120-million-euro ($140 million) penalty for a lack of transparency over what the EU calls the deceptive design of its "blue checkmark" for supposedly verified accounts, and its failure to provide access to public data for researchers.
- Digital Markets Act -
Since March 2024, the world's biggest digital companies have faced strict EU rules intended to limit abuses linked to market dominance, favour the emergence of start-ups in Europe and improve options for consumers.
Brussels has so far named seven so-called gatekeepers covered by the Digital Markets Act: Google's Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok parent ByteDance, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta, Microsoft and travel giant Booking.
Gatekeepers can be fined for locking in customers to use pre-installed services, such as a web browser, mapping or weather information.
The DMA has forced Google to overhaul its search display to avoid favouring its own services -- such as Google flights or shopping.
It requires that users be able to choose what app stores they use -- without going via the dominant two players, Apple's App Store and Google Play.
And it has forced Apple to allow developers to offer alternative payment options directly to consumers -- outside of the App Store, hitting it with a fine of 500 million euros in April.
The DMA has also imposed interoperability between messaging apps WhatsApp and Messenger and competitors who request it.
The EU fined Meta 200 million euros in April over its "pay or consent" system after it violated rules on the use of personal data on Facebook and Instagram.
Failure to comply with the DMA can carry fines in the billions of dollars, reaching 20 percent of global turnover for repeat offenders.
- RGPD and AI -
The EU's data protection rules (RGPD) have also tripped up US tech giants, with Brussels issuing numerous fines since they came into force in 2018.
The rules require firms to seek the consent of users to collect personal data and to explain what it will be used for, and gives users the right to ask firms to delete personal data.
Fines for violations can go as high as 20 million euros, or four percent of a company's global turnover.
The EU has also adopted its AI act which will gradually bring in guardrails on using artificial intelligence in high-risk areas such as security, health and civic rights. In the face of pressure from the industry, the EU is considering weakening the measures and delaying their implementation.
US denies visas to EU ex-commissioner, four others over tech rules
Washington, United States (AFP) Dec 24, 2025 -
The US State Department said Tuesday it would deny visas to a former EU commissioner and four others, accusing them of seeking to "coerce" American social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose.
"These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states -- in each case targeting American speakers and American companies," the department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
The measure targeted Thierry Breton, the former top tech regulator at the European Commission, who often clashed with tech tycoons such as Elon Musk over their obligations to follow EU rules.
Breton was described by the State Department as the "mastermind" of the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), a major piece of legislation that imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X his country "strongly condemns" the visa restrictions, adding that Europe "cannot let the rules governing their digital space be imposed by others upon them".
The DSA has become a bitter rallying point for US conservatives who see it as a weapon of censorship against right-wing thought in Europe and beyond, an accusation the EU furiously denies.
"The Digital Services Act (DSA) was democratically adopted in Europe... it has absolutely no extraterritorial reach and in no way affects the United States," Barrot said.
The DSA stipulates that major platforms must explain content-moderation decisions, provide transparency for users and ensure researchers can carry out essential work, such as understanding how much children are exposed to dangerous content.
Breton, who left the European Commission in 2024, on X slammed the ban as a "witch hunt," comparing the situation to the US McCarthy era when officials were chased out of government for alleged ties to communism.
"To our American friends: Censorship isn't where you think it is," he added.
- 'Extraterritorial overreach' -
Washington has scaled up its attacks on EU regulations after Brussels earlier this month fined Musk's X for violating DSA rules on transparency in advertising and its methods for ensuring users were verified and actual people.
Last week the US government signaled that key European businesses could be targeted in response, listing Accenture, DHL, Mistral, Siemens and Spotify among others.
The visa ban also targeted Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that fights online hate, misinformation, and disinformation that also fell in the crosshairs of Musk after his takeover of Twitter, later renamed X.
Also subject to the ban were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of HateAid, a German organization that the State Department said functions as a trusted flagger for enforcing the DSA.
Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), rounded out the group.
Washington is also attacking the UK's Online Safety Act, Britain's equivalent of the DSA that seeks to impose content moderation requirements on major social media platforms.
The White House last week suspended implementation of a tech cooperation deal with Britain, saying it was in opposition to the UK's tech rules.
"President Trump has been clear that his America First foreign policy rejects violations of American sovereignty," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
"Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors targeting American speech is no exception," he added.
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