US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the United States will deny visas to foreign officials who are found to censor Americans' social media content. This policy targets individuals who penalize U.S. citizens or pressure American tech companies over content posted on platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Rubio -- who himself has come under fire for removing US visas from activists who criticize Israel -- said he was acting against "flagrant censorship actions" overseas against US tech firms.
He did not publicly name any official who would lose a visa under the new policy. But last week he suggested to lawmakers that he was planning action against Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has battled X owner Elon Musk to remove alleged disinformation.
The administration of President Donald Trump -- himself a prolific and often confrontational social media user -- has also sharply criticized allies Germany and Britain for restricting what the governments term hate speech.
Rubio said that the United States will begin to restrict visas to foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States."
"It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on US citizens or US residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on US 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 said.
"We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech."
Rubio has said that he has revoked the US visas for thousands of people, largely students who have protested against Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Among the most visible cases has been Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who had written an opinion piece in a student newspaper criticizing the school's position on Gaza.
Masked agents arrested her on a Massachusetts street and took her away. A judge recently ordered her release.
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