Europe defends its digital rules after Trump administration targets Breton with visa ban

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Europe defends its digital rules after Trump administration targets Breton with visa ban  Brussels and Paris both denounced Washington’s decision to impose a visa ban on former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, after the Trump administration escalated digital rules scrap by sanctioning Breton over what it said amounted to "censorship".   READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/24/europe-defends-its-digital-rules-after-trump-administration-targets-breton-with-visa-ban  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00European Union officials have defended landmark digital rules on Wednesday after the Trump

00:05administration moved to impose sanctions, including a visa ban on former EU Commissioner

00:10Thierry Breton. The commission said in a statement that it strongly condemns Washington's decision,

00:16stressing that freedom of expression is a fundamental right and a shared core value

00:21with the U.S. and the rest of the democratic world. Brussels insists that it has a sovereign

00:26right to regulate its digital market in line with its values, stressing that its rules are

00:31applied fairly and without discrimination. The European Commission also noted that it was

00:36prepared to respond, quote, swiftly and decisively, against unjustified measures from the U.S. side.

00:43Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron accused the U.S. of intimidation following the visa ban

00:49en Breton, the commissioner he appointed himself. Macron says the move amounts to coercion aimed at

00:55undermining European digital sovereignty. Breton played a key role in drafting the Digital Services

01:01Act, which aims to hold social media companies and large platforms accountable for the content they

01:06publish. The act allows the EU to fine companies in violation of the mandate up to 6 percent of their

01:13annual worldwide turnover. Trump and his Vice President J.D. Vance have previously slammed the

01:18block, saying the act censors freedom of speech, referring to their officials as commissars.

01:24Earlier this month, Elon Musk was hit with a 120 million euro fine after his platform,

01:31X, failed to comply in what was the first invoking of the act. The fine triggered a furious response

01:38from the tech billionaire, who in turn called for the abolition of the EU.

01:42Digital Space.

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