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A British An anti-disinformation campaigner has accused “sociopathic” tech companies of being behind an attempt to deport him from the US.
Imran Ahmed, East Labor The adviser was sanctioned by Donald Trump’s administration over his work as chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which campaigns against online misinformation and anti-Semitism.
Senior State Department officials accused Mr Ahmed of seeking to “censor” social media platforms such as Elon Musk’s X.
The billionaire tried unsuccessfully last year to sue CCDH over claims there was an increase in hate speech and disinformation on its website.
In an interview with the Guardian on Friday, Mr Ahmed said the decision to ban him was “never about politics”, and he pointed the finger at social media companies, whom he sought to “hold accountable”.
He said: “The issue is that there are companies that don’t want to be held accountable and because of the influence of big money in Washington, are corrupting the system and trying to bend it to their will, and they don’t want to be held accountable.
“There is no other industry that operates with such arrogance, indifference and lack of humility and social greed at the expense of people.”
Mr Ahmed is one of five Europeans who have been slapped with a visa ban by the US on charges of “censorship”, including Claire Melford, chief executive of the UK-based Global Disinformation Index.
As a green card holder, Mr Ahmed has legal permanent residence in the US, where he lives with his American wife and child, but sanctions mean that status could be revoked, leaving him at risk of deportation.
Since being approved, Mr Ahmed has obtained a court order preventing his arrest or deportation ahead of a hearing on December 29 to consider a legal complaint against the sanctions.
his lawyer, Roberta Kaplansaid the US government’s actions were “unfair and clearly unconstitutional”, while Mr Ahmed himself said he was confident his right to freedom of expression would be upheld.
The Trump administration has indicated that sanctions could be followed by further action, potentially targeting serving politicians or officials.
Other Europeans affected by the travel bans included the former EU commissioner responsible for monitoring social media rules, Thierry Breton, and Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of the German organization HateAid.
Mr Ahmed has links to senior Labor figures, having now worked as an adviser to the Northern Ireland Secretary hilary ben During his tenure as Shadow Foreign Secretary.
Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, was listed as a director at CCDH before resigning in April 2020, according to Companies House records.