"On Tuesday, the Trump Administration followed through on a threat of retaliation targeting foreigners who are involved in content moderation. The State Department announced sanctions barring US access for former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, as well as four researchers, while issuing an intentionally chilling threat to others, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming, "The State Department stands ready and willing to expand today's list if other foreign actors do not reverse course.""
"One of the researchers the State Department says is banned and now deportable, is Imran Ahmed, who runs the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an organization aimed at identifying and pushing back against hate speech online that Elon Musk tried and failed to censor with a lawsuit that was dismissed in early 2024. In his decision, Judge Charles Breyer wrote that X's motivation for suing was to "punish CCDH for CCDH publications that criticized X Corp. - and perhaps in order to dissuade others.""
"Breton is called "a mastermind of the Digital Services Act" by US Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers, who specifically referenced a letter he sent to Elon Musk ahead of a livestreamed event with Donald Trump that noted X's legal obligations under the DSA relating to illegal content and disinformation. The other researchers include Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon, leaders of HateAid, a nonprofit that tried to sue X in 2023"
On Tuesday the Trump Administration enacted sanctions targeting foreigners involved in content moderation. The State Department barred U.S. access for former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and four researchers and warned it could expand the list. One banned researcher is Imran Ahmed, who runs the Center for Countering Digital Hate; Elon Musk's lawsuit against CCDH was dismissed in early 2024. Judge Charles Breyer wrote that X's lawsuit sought to "punish CCDH for CCDH publications that criticized X Corp. - and perhaps in order to dissuade others." Breton was described as "a mastermind of the Digital Services Act," and other named figures lead HateAid and the Global Disinformation Index. The press release labeled the measures actions against a "Censorship-Industrial Complex."
Read at The Verge
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