British officials face being BANNED from the United States in an extraordinary escalation of free speech tensions between Washington and London.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sweeping new visa restrictions targeting foreign officials deemed “complicit in censoring” American citizens and tech companies – with UK regulators squarely in the crosshairs.
The bombshell announcement, which caught British diplomats completely off-guard, could see staff at Ofcom – Britain’s communications regulator – barred from entering America over their enforcement of the controversial Online Safety Act.
Diplomats were seeking clarity from the White House last night after the shock intervention that threatens to plunge UK-US relations into crisis.
‘FLAGRANT CENSORSHIP’
In a scathing statement, Rubio declared: “For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights
It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil”, he added.
The new policy, announced Wednesday, marks the latest salvo in the Trump administration’s war on what it sees as global censorship of American voices online.
Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of traveling to our country”, Rubio posted on X, formerly Twitter.
ONLINE SAFETY ACT FURY
The visa ban threat comes as The US State Department has repeatedly raised concerns over the laws’ capacity to curtail freedom of expression under Britain’s Online Safety Act.
Under the law, social media giants face fines of up to £18 million or 10 per cent of their annual revenue if they fail to remove harmful content from their platforms.
The Act, which Starting March 17, Ofcom will have the authority to sanction any in-scope entity that fails to comply with the regulations, has been branded “Orwellian” by Trump officials.
Samuel Samson, senior advisor for that bureau, accused Britain and Germany of censoring online speech and said the EU Digital Services Act was “used to silence dissident voices through Orwellian content moderation.
LUCY CONNOLLY CASE
The White House is also “monitoring” the case of Lucy Connolly, a British mother jailed for 31 months over a social media post about the Southport attacks.
State department officials are examining the treatment of Connolly, the wife of a Conservative councillor, who was jailed for 31 months over a social media post about the Southport attacks.
The 42-year-old childminder posted on X: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f—ing hotels full of the b——s for all I care, while you’re at it, take the treacherous government politicians with them”.
She deleted the post less than four hours later by which point it had been viewed 310,000 times.
A spokesman for the state department said: “We can confirm that we are monitoring this matter. The United States supports freedom of expression at home and abroad, and remains concerned about infringements on freedom of expression”.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman declared: “Lucy Connolly is effectively a political prisoner and should be freed immediately. She made an ill-judged tweet, soon deleted. That the US is investigating this case is a sad indictment of the dire state of free speech under Two-Tier Keir. Free speech is in crisis under Labour”.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick pointed out the glaring double standards: “In recent months, shoplifters with hundreds of prior convictions have avoided prison. A domestic abuser with 52 prior offences got off with just a suspended sentence, as did a paedophile with 110,000 indecent images of children”.
SOUTHPORT THREATS
The intervention follows threats made by British authorities after the Southport riots to prosecute Americans posting online.
“We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you”, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned at the time.
Officials from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor are separately visiting EU members France and Ireland this week to press those governments on freedom of expression.
DIPLOMATIC CRISIS
The visa restrictions apply under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the Secretary of State to render inadmissible any alien whose entry into the Unites States “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Certain family members may also be covered by these restrictions.
The Brazilian government is waiting to fully understand who could be targeted by the ban and what its scope would be, a government source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
A European Commission spokesperson said commissioners were aware of Rubio’s announcement, which “seems to be of a general nature.” The spokesperson declined to comment further.
TRUMP’S FREE SPEECH CRUSADE
The move builds on previous interventions by the Trump administration. Before the intervention, The Telegraph revealed Mr Trump had sent US officials to meet five British pro-life activists over censorship concerns.
The diplomats from the US bureau of democracy, human rights and labour travelled to London in March in an effort to “affirm the importance of freedom of expression in the UK and across Europe. They met with officials from the Foreign Office and challenged Ofcom on the Online Safety Act.
As tensions mount between the special relationship partners, one thing is clear: the days of Britain threatening to arrest Americans for their social media posts are over.
“Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over”, Rubio warned.
The question now is whether Sir Keir Starmer’s government will back down – or risk a full-blown diplomatic crisis with America’s new administration.
