MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Having to face low approval ratings, French President Emmanuel Macron has been trying to turn the European Union in a 'digital gulag,' Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov wrote on X.
"The sanctioned architect of the EU’s censorship law is a close ally and appointee of Macron. Facing ultralow approval ratings, Macron is trying to silence online critics by turning the entire EU into a digital gulag — through censorship (DSA) and mass surveillance (Chat Control)," he said, commenting on the US decision to impose sanctions on a number of European officials including Thierry Breton, a close ally of Macron.
The United States imposed visa restrictions on Breton and some other officials who Washington alleges are involved in censoring Americans on Tuesday. The former European commissioner, for instance, was called the ideological mastermind of the EU Law on digital services, which significantly strengthened control over a number of Internet platforms in the European Union.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States had banned entry to the country of the key players in this global censorship effort. He said that ideologues in Europe are trying to force American platforms to punish US citizens for expressing certain points of view. Rubio also said that Washington would be ready to expand this sanctions list if necessary.