Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a visa restriction policy that will apply to "foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States." "Free speech is among the most cherished rights we enjoy as Americans. This right, legally enshrined in our constitution, has set us apart as a beacon of freedom around the world," he said in a press release on Wednesday.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Secretary Rubio emphasized that despite efforts to reject censorship domestically, there are concerning actions by foreign governments and officials. "Even as we take action to reject censorship at home, we see troubling instances of foreign governments and foreign officials picking up the slack," he explained. In some cases, these officials have taken significant censorship actions against US tech companies and citizens without proper authority.
Rubio highlighted the unacceptability of foreign officials issuing or threatening arrest warrants against U.S. citizens or residents for social media posts on American platforms while present on US soil. He also criticized demands by foreign officials for American tech platforms to adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activities that overreach their authority into the United States.
The Secretary of State firmly stated that the US would not tolerate any encroachments upon its sovereignty, especially when such actions undermine the fundamental right to free speech.