“France strongly condemns the visa restriction against Breton and four other figures,” he stated in X.

Washington accused those sanctioned of promoting censorship to the detriment of US interests.

Breton is considered the architect, within the European Union (EU), of the Digital Services Directive and a proponent of online regulation.

The other four individuals targeted by the measure belong to non-governmental organizations in Germany and the United Kingdom that combat disinformation and hate speech online. Barrot stated on social media that European peoples are free and sovereign and cannot accept that others impose rules governing their digital space.

For his part, Breton believed that censorship does not originate from the EU, adding that there are “winds of McCarthyism.”

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