US mulls rejecting visas for fact-checkers and content moderators

The Donald Trump administration has directed US embassy officials to reject visa applicants who have worked in roles related to fact-checking, content moderation, compliance, or online safety, according to a State Department memo obtained by Reuters. 

The new visa restrictions are expected to disproportionately impact technology workers, particularly those applying from countries like India. 

The memo instructs consular officials to deny visas to anyone seen being “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States.” 

The directive applies to all visa types, including journalists and tourists, but focuses primarily on H-1B visas, typically granted to highly skilled foreign workers in technology and related sectors.

Applicants’ professional histories, LinkedIn profiles, and social media accounts will be scrutinised for involvement in activities such as combating misinformation, content moderation, trust and safety, and compliance. Evidence of participation in such roles could render applicants ineligible for entry.

The policy appears to target professionals involved in online safety work, including those addressing child sexual abuse material, antisemitism, and harmful online content. 

UK officials implementing the Online Safety Act 2023, which empowers Ofcom to fine social media companies for breaches such as cyberflashing or promoting self-harm, could also face visa restrictions under the new rules.

The Trump administration has framed the directive as a defence of free speech, citing the US president’s own experience with social media bans following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

A State Department spokesperson said, “While we do not comment on allegedly leaked documents, make no mistake, the Administration has made clear that it defends Americans’ freedom of expression against foreigners who wish to censor them. 

We do not support aliens coming to the US to work as censors muzzling Americans. Allowing foreigners to lead this type of censorship would both insult and injure the American people,” as per The Guardian.

Alice Goguen Hunsberger, vice president of trust and safety at PartnerHero, told NPR, “I’m alarmed that trust and safety work is being conflated with ‘censorship’.

Trust and safety is a broad practice which includes critical and life-saving work to protect children and stop child sexual abuse material, as well as preventing fraud, scams, and sextortion. Having global workers at tech companies in trust and safety absolutely keeps Americans safer.”

This year, the administration restricted visas for foreign journalists, removed references to climate change from government websites, banned journalists from White House briefings, and sued media organisations.

In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, “Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of travelling 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.”   

Source: NDTV 

--Agencies