Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the United States will deny visas for foreigners it believes are censoring Americans. Rubio hinted that the new policy might target officials who oversee US tech businesses.
Rubio did not cite any particular censoring incidents. However, the Trump administration and US tech corporations have accused US allies in Europe of censoring social media sites, and preventing officials from traveling to the US seemed to be an escalation by Washington.
In a statement, Rubio warned that foreigners who limit protected speech in the US would be subject to a new visa restriction regime.
Foreign authorities issuing or threatening arrest warrants for social media posts, he argued, is inappropriate.
