Wednesday 24th December 2025
On 23 December, the US State Department sanctioned 4 civil society leaders: Imran Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of Hateaid, Clare Melford, CEO of The Global Disinformation Index, as well as former EU Commissioner and French government minister Thierry Breton, barring their entry to the United States.
These civil society leaders are working to ensure the digital world is safe for everyone. You would not get on a plane with an airline that refused safety checks. Just as we expect safety standards for aviation, automotive manufacturing, and public water systems, digital platforms serving hundreds of millions of Europeans must operate transparently and safely.
The EU Digital Services Act, the officials who enforce it, as well as the nonprofit organisations that work on information integrity, ensure online safety. They protect freedom of speech and expression, making sure hundreds of millions of Europeans can use social media and online platforms and express themselves – speech is not limited, it is protected from manipulation.
All those who defend democracy and freedom need to stand together, and we the undersigned stand with those wrongfully sanctioned here.
The US government must immediately rescind its actions barring entry of those working to protect information integrity and freedom of speech. It must stop falsely and misleadingly using the term “censorship”, where no censorship is taking place.
Very Large Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act should publicly reaffirm their commitment to full DSA implementation and compliance with the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, including transparent collaboration with independent researchers and civil society organizations monitoring platform practices
The EU and its Member States must stand firm and remain undeterred from defending and enforcing EU laws. The aim of defending fundamental rights and freedoms online, including free expression, lays at the heart of the Digital Services Act. Defending these values and EU sovereignty must be non-negotiable.
The rules the EU has adopted are indispensable for Europeans’ sovereignty, independence, competitiveness, and liberty, as well as protecting freedom of speech. Any further EU legislation on digital technologies must have these principles and values at its core.
EU Member States and the UK should immediately call on the United States to reverse these travel restrictions, which target individuals working within established legal frameworks to protect democratic values. The EU institutions and national governments must actively support and defend anyone who faces threats, harassment, or defamation for upholding these principles and Europe’s sovereignty in the digital sphere.
Signatories
Organisations
AlgorithmWatch
AlgorithmWatch CH
Alliance4Europe
American Sunlight Project
ARTICLE 19
Campact e.V.
CEE Digital Democracy Watch
Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe
CH++
Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties)
ctrl+alt+reclaim
D64 – Center for Digital Progress
Data For Good France
Defend Democracy
Dezentrum
Digital Intimacy Coalition
Digitale Gesellschaft (Schweiz)
European Fact-Checking Standards Network
FactCheck.LT / VšĮ DigitalHub
FIDU (Italian Federation for Human Rights)
Free Our Feeds Campaign
Fundación Maldita.es
Hermes Center
Homo Digitalis
Human and Social Studies Foundation (HSSF)
Intersections
Media.am, Media Initiatives Center.
New School of the Anthropocene
Opsci.ai
People vs Big Tech
Politiscope
Polisphere
Post-X Society
Public Circle Research & Consulting
Science Feedback
Stop Funding Hate / Stop Funding Heat
Sustainable AI Futures
The Firewall
The European Public Services Union
The Khalifa Ihler Institute
Transparency International EU
Vigilia
Waag Futurelab
WHAT TO FIX
Individuals:
Adam Fivenson, Center for Security, Innovation & New Technology
Adela Levis, Professor of Political Science
Alex Engler, Executive Director of the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy
Julien Fagel
Dominik Uhlig, Gazeta Wyborcza
Karolin Schwartz
Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol
Professor Stephen Hutchings, University of Manchester.
Ronald J. Deibert, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.
Marcus Kolga, Director DisinfoWatch
Marietje Schaake, Author ‘The Tech Coup, How to Save Democracy from Sillicon Valley’
