<
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/04/nx-s1-5633444/trump-content-moderation-visas-censorship>
“The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa applications from
people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation or other activities the
Trump administration considers "censorship" of Americans' speech.
The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, is focused on applicants
for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, which are frequently used by tech
companies, among other sectors. The memo was first reported by
Reuters;
NPR
also obtained a copy.
"If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in,
censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United
States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible" for a
visa, the memo says. It refers to a policy announced by Secretary of State
Marco Rubio in May restricting visas from being issued to "foreign officials
and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans."
The Trump administration has been highly critical of tech companies' efforts to
police what people are allowed to post on their platforms and of the broader
field of trust and safety, the tech industry's term for teams that focus on
preventing abuse, fraud, illegal content, and other harmful behavior online.
President Trump was banned from multiple social media platforms in the
aftermath of his supporters' attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. While those
bans have since been lifted, the president and members of his administration
frequently cite that experience as evidence for their claims that tech
companies unfairly target conservatives — even as many tech leaders have eased
their policies in the face of that backlash.”
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
