The deconstruction of the European Union is right on track it seems. The aim of this little article is to shine some light on the five people that were considered persona non grata in the United States of America because of their censorship activities.

MARCO RUBIO AND THE WAR ON THE CENSORSHIP INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
On December 23, 2025, Marco Rubio declared war on what is called ‘The Censorship Industrial Complex‘ (1,2). Here’s how Laura Aboli described this historic development:

“Something historic just happened, under the Trump administration, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has formally designated several European figures persona non grata, banning them from entering the United States for their role in what he explicitly called the global censorship industrial complex. This is the United States treating censorship as a national security threat. ” (3)

WHO ARE THE ONES THAT ARE BANNED?
Let’s see who got targeted by this ‘war on censorship’. The words in italics are from Laura Aboli.

THIERRY BRETON
• Thierry Breton — former EU Commissioner and chief architect of the Digital Services Act, the framework used to pressure U.S. platforms into censoring content

We have come across Thierry Breton before. Remember how he threatened Musk that it would be unwise to talk to the presidential candidate Donald Trump in a live feed, because there might be information shared with the citizens of Europe that go against the narrative that is strongly defended within the European Censorship Industrial Complex. He might have worded it slightly different, I suppose (4).

Here’s a relevant excerpt from J.D. Vance’s speech in Munich on February 14, 2025 related to Thierry Breton (5):

IMRAN AHMED
• Imran Ahmed — founder of the UK-based Centre for Countering Digital Hate, central to coordinated deplatforming and blacklist campaigns

Here’s some background on Imran Ahmed, that explains why the US Administration considers him to be part of the Censorship Industrial Complex:

“The State Department called Ahmed a key collaborator with the Biden administration who wanted to kill Elon Musk’s Twitter. “WE’VE SANCTIONED: Imran Ahmed, key collaborator with the Biden Administration’s effort to weaponize the government against U.S. citizens. Ahmed’s group, Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), created the infamous “disinformation dozen” report, which called for platforms to deplatform twelve American “anti-vaxxers”, including now-HHS Secretary @SecKennedy . Leaked documents from CCDH show the organization listed “kill Musk’s Twitter” and “trigger EU and UK regulatory action” as priorities. The organization supports the UK’s Online Safety Act and EU’s Digital Services Act to expand censorship in Europe and around the world,” the department said.” (6)

CLARE MELFORD
• Clare Melford — head of the Global Disinformation Index, which worked to financially suffocate dissenting media

• Josephine Ballon — CEO of Germany’s HateAid

• Anna-Lena von Hodenberg — co-founder of HateAid.

Laura Aboli continued as follows:

“Rubio’s message was unmistakable: foreign actors do not get to coerce American platforms, police American speech, or shape American elections under the cover of “disinformation” policy. For the first time, the U.S. government is openly acknowledging that censorship is not accidental or reactive, but industrialized, coordinated, and transnational.

This is America reclaiming its First Amendment sovereignty. This is Trump’s administration drawing a hard line, and it is a direct challenge to a global system of unelected narrative control. Great news!” (3)

FOOTNOTES
(1) Announcement of Actions to Combat the Global Censorship-Industrial Complex
(2) What Is the Censorship Industrial Complex and How is it Affecting Our Free Speech Rights?
(3) Telegram Post by Laura Aboli
(4) How the EU Proposed to Secretly Censor X – Nobody Needed to Know
(5) Address to the 61st Meeting of the Munich Security Conference
(6) ‘If you spend your career….’: Who is Imran Ahmed? Why is he not allowed to enter the US?
(7) Trump administration bans two British free speech campaigners from US as censorship row escalates
(8) US-Regierung will Kritiker „zum Schweigen bringen“.
(9) USA verbieten deutschen Internet-Aktivistinnen die Einreise