Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard publicly endorsed new State Department sanctions aimed at foreign efforts to censor Americans’ voices.

Gabbard stated on X that "foreign nations seeking to impose their anti-freedom policies to censor American voices and force American platforms to regulate or silence our free speech is a gross violation of our sovereignty that must be answered with accountability."

Five Individuals Face Visa Restrictions

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that five people had their visas restricted by the department for spearheading coordinated attempts to force American platforms to censor, demonetize, and stifle American opinions.

Rubio stated on X that "ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose," adding that the Trump Administration "will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship."

Under Secretary Sarah B. Rogers later identified the sanctioned individuals in a series of posts on X as Thierry Breton, a former European Commissioner who threatened Elon Musk using the Digital Services Act.

Thierry had earlier also warned Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) to act swiftly to tackle disinformation on its platforms.

The other four are Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate; Clare Melford of the Global Disinformation Index; and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of the German organization HateAid.

The announcement comes after the EU's early December €120 million ($140 million) penalty on Elon Musk's X platform, which President Donald Trump allies publicly opposed in support of Musk.

Earlier, the Trump administration warned it could impose fees or restrictions on European firms if the EU's "discriminatory" regulatory actions against U.S. tech companies continue, highlighting tensions over transatlantic tech rules.

Administration Signals Expansion Possible

Rubio warned that the department "stands ready and willing to expand today’s list if other foreign actors do not reverse course."

Read Next:

• Director Of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Disputes US Intelligence On Russia Amid Trump-Backed Ukraine Peace Efforts

Photo: Shutterstock

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.