United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday the introduction of visa restrictions for "foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression" in the North American country.
"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's statement read. "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."
Although it is not clear whether there is a connection, the move came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz threatened that Elon Musk would face consequences over supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in X posts ahead of the country’s election. Meanwhile, it was reported that the European Union might fine X over $1 billion for seemingly failing to combat illicit content and disinformation.
