The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.

Axar.az informs, citing CNN, in a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the five sanctioned people of leading “organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.”

Top Trump administration officials have repeatedly condemned European nations for alleged censorship, and the latest State Department human rights report alleged “significant human rights issues” in allies like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany over “serious restrictions on freedom of expression.”

Rubio’s statement said that for the five sanctioned people, he had “determined that their entry, presence, or activities in the United States have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

“These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states—in each case targeting American speakers and American companies,” he said.

The top US diplomat said that “based on these determinations,” the State Department “has taken steps to impose visa restrictions on agents of the global censorship-industrial complex who, as a result, will be generally barred from entering the United States.” Further, the Department of Homeland Security “can initiate removal proceedings against certain individuals … which renders such individuals deportable,” he said.