The Trump administration imposed visa bans on Tuesday on five European citizens, including French former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and activists from Germany’s HateAid and Center for Countering Digital Hate, who it accused of working to censor free speech and unfairly target US tech giants with overly burdensome regulation.

The EU said it will "respond swiftly and decisively" against the US’s "unjustified measures".

French President Emmanuel Macron said the visa bans amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty, adding that the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) was democratically adopted to ensure a safe and fair online environment.

The German Ministry of Justice said the bans are unacceptable and that protecting users from illegal hate speech is consistent with Germany's constitutional system and can’t be misrepresented as 'censorship’.