The French Foreign Ministry condemned US sanctions against former European Commissioner Breton.

France strongly condemns the sanctions imposed by the United States against former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and four other European public figures, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

"France strongly condemns the visa restrictions imposed by the United States on Thierry Breton, former minister and European Commissioner, and four other European figures," Barrot wrote on his Telegram channel.

He emphasized that the European Union adopted the Digital Services Act (DSA), which became the basis for the restrictions, democratically. It was created to ensure that what is illegal offline remains illegal online. Barro noted that this law is not extraterritorial in nature and "in no way concerns" the United States. "The peoples of Europe are free and sovereign and cannot allow the rules governing their digital space to be imposed on them by others," the minister concluded.

The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) was adopted in 2020 and entered into force in 2022. It requires social media operators to moderate content that could "have a negative impact on public space and public safety." If a platform violates this rule, it faces a fine of up to 6% of its revenue. In extreme cases, the EC can block the social media platform within the bloc.

Thierry Breton was one of the co-authors of the law. In 2024 , he threatened Elon Musk, the owner of the social network X, with "full application" of sanctions under the law for disinformation on X.

On December 24, it was announced that the United States had decided to ban entry to several "leading figures in the global censorship-industrial complex" as part of a crackdown on restrictions on American platforms. The restrictions affected Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner and French Minister of Industry, Economy, and Finance (2005–2007); Imran Ahmed, head of the UK-based NGO Countering Digital Hate; Claire Melford, head of the UK-based Global Disinformation Index; Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, founder of Germany's HateAid; and Josephine Ballon, co-director of that organization.

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