Wubi News

US denies visas to ex-EU commissioner and others over social media rules

2025-12-24 09:00:08
Clare Melford and Imran Ahmed, who have campaigned against hate speech and disinformation online, have been banned from entering the US

Two British social media campaigners are among five people denied US visas after the State Department accused them of seeking to "coerce" American tech platforms into suppressing free speech.

Imran Ahmed, an ex-Labour adviser who now heads the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, CEO of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), were labelled "radical activists" by the Trump administration and banned from entering the US.

A French ex-EU commissioner and two senior figures at a Germany-based anti-online hate group were also denied visas.

French President Emmanuel Macron led European condemnation of the move, describing it as "intimidation".

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