State Secretary Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the government is imposing new visa restrictions for foreigners who have censored American voices. The move will likely be seen as a slight against European Union countries, which the Trump administration has criticized for restricting speech.
In a Wednesday post on X, Rubio declared that free speech is an essential right of all Americans, imposing new penalties on those found to have violated this right.
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“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” he said. “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life — a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.”
He specifically mentioned Latin America and Europe as targets of the new policy, criticizing the government’s past “passive treatment” of the issue.
“Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of traveling to our country. 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 added.
The issue of free speech has become a major area of contention between the U.S., the United Kingdom, and the EU under the Trump administration, with the U.K. and E.U. undertaking measures targeting speech which have been characterized by the U.S. as draconian.
The UK and EU countries have a broad definition of what constitutes hate or dangerous speech, often handing hefty fines or prison terms to those expressing views at odds with the state. Conservatives in the U.S. have decried this approach for some time, especially when regulations regarding speech target U.S. tech companies. This area seems the most likely target of Rubio’s announcement.
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President Donald Trump recently sent a team of five State Department officials to the U.K. to meet with anti-abortion activists who had been charged or otherwise persecuted by the state for their speech, according to the Telegraph.
Free speech was a central part of Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference, during which he said that “Free speech in Britain and across Europe was in retreat.”