The United States says it will impose a visa restriction policy on foreign nationals who censor Americans on social media.
Marco Rubio, secretary of state, announced the new policy in a statement on Wednesday.
Rubio said free speech is among the most cherished American rights but accused foreign governments and officials of clamping down on its citizens.
“In some instances, foreign officials have taken flagrant censorship actions against U.S. tech companies and U.S. citizens and residents when they have no authority to do so,” the statement reads.
Rubio noted that the visa restriction will also affect foreign officials who demand content moderation policies from American tech platforms.
“It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil,” he added.
“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.
“We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech.”
Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), Google (owner of YouTube and other services), Microsoft (owner of LinkedIn), X, and Snapchat are all American tech platforms.
