Germany slams US ban on German non-profit group supporting victims of hate speech

BERLIN

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday criticized the entry ban imposed by the US government on the managing directors of HateAid, a German counseling center that combats online hate speech.

The Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates online platforms in the EU, ensures “that everything that is illegal offline is also illegal online,” Wadephul wrote on US social media company X.

The DSA was democratically adopted by the European Union for the bloc and does not have an extraterritorial effect. “We want to clarify other differences of opinion with the US in transatlantic dialogue in order to strengthen our partnership,” the minister added.

Former French EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who is considered the architect of the Digital Services Act, is also affected by the US entry ban.

The US government justified the entry sanctions against HateAid managing directors, Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, as well as three other Europeans, on the grounds of alleged censorship of US online platforms.

In a statement, Ballon and Hodenberg called it an "act of repression."

"We are not surprised. It is an act of repression by a government that is increasingly disregarding the rule of law and trying to silence its critics with all its might," Ballon and Hodenberg told German news agency DPA.

The US government is trying by all means to prevent US companies in Europe from having to comply with applicable law, thus "questioning European sovereignty," they added.

Meanwhile, German parliament's Vice President Omid Nouripour called for the “immediate summoning of the charge d'affaires of the US Embassy,” saying this was aimed at “protecting German citizens."