UK says 'committed' to upholding free speech after US visa bans

European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton delivers a speech during the congress of the centrist MoDem party in Blois, on March 23, 2024. [AFP]

The UK government said Wednesday it is "fully committed" to upholding free speech, after the US slapped visa bans on five prominent Europeans working in the tech sphere, including two Britons.

"While every country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions which are working to keep the Internet free from the most harmful content," a British government spokesperson said.

"The UK is fully committed to upholding the right to free speech," the spokesperson added.

The US State Department announced sanctions Tuesday against Britons Imran Ahmed -- of the anti-misinformation nonprofit the Center for Countering Digital Hate -- and Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI).

It also targeted former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and two others.

It accused them all of promoting "censorship crackdowns by foreign states -- in each case targeting American speakers and American companies".

It follows Washington ramping up its attacks on EU regulations after Brussels earlier this month fined Elon Musk's X for violating rules on transparency in advertising and its methods for ensuring users were verified and actual people.

The US administration of President Donald Trump has also been highly critical of the UK over tech and free speech, attacking its Online Safety Act that seeks to impose content moderation requirements on major social media platforms.

In August, the State Department said Britain had "significant human rights issues", including restrictions on free speech, and last week the White House suspended implementation of a multi-billion-dollar tech cooperation deal.

It emerged that this was due to opposition to the UK's tech rules.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government, which has steered clear of public criticism of the Trump administration, struck a conciliatory tone on the tech deal hold-up.

It said in response last week that it was focused on promptly resuming talks over the agreement, signed during the US president's pomp-filled UK state visit in September.

London's public response to Tuesday's US sanctions also appeared more tepid than other European capitals, with French President Emmanuel Macron accusing the US of "intimidation" and "coercion" and Berlin branding it "not acceptable".