The U.S has introduced new guidelines instructing consular staff to deny visa applications from individuals involved in fact-checking, content moderation, and other roles deemed to be “censorship” of American speech.
It was gathered that the directive to deny visa applications from individuals involved in fact-checking was outlined in an internal memo from the U.S State Department, that focuses on H-1B visa applicants, a common path for skilled workers in the tech sector.
The memo directed consular officers to conduct a “thorough exploration” of both new and returning applicants’ work histories. This enhanced vetting includes scrutinizing resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and media mentions for any work related to “combating misinformation, disinformation or false narratives, fact-checking, content moderation, compliance, and online safety.”
If an applicant is found to have been “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States,” officials are instructed to pursue a finding that the individual is ineligible for a visa.
“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 development to deny visa applications for individuals involved in fact-checking comes as the administration of U.S President Donald Trump has been 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.
Recall that 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.
Tuesday’s memo calls out H-1B visa applicants in particular “as many work in or have worked in the tech sector, including in social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression.”
The memo called out H-1B visa applicants in particular “as many work in or have worked in the tech sector, including in social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression.”
It also directed consular officers to “thoroughly explore” the work histories of applicants, both new and returning, by reviewing their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and appearances in media articles for activities including combating misinformation, disinformation, or false narratives, fact-checking, content moderation, compliance, and trust and safety.
Reacting to the development, Alice Goguen Hunsberger, who has worked in trust and safety at tech companies including OpenAI and Grindr said: “I’m alarmed that trust and safety work is being conflated with ‘censorship’.
“Trust and safety is a broad practice which includes critical and life-saving work to protect children and stop CSAM [child sexual abuse material], as well as preventing fraud, scams, and sextortion. T&S workers are focused on making the internet a safer and better place, not censoring just for the sake of it,” she said.
“Bad actors that target Americans come from all over the world and it’s so important to have people who understand different languages and cultures on trust and safety teams — having global workers at tech companies in [trust and safety] absolutely keeps Americans safer.”
In a statement, a State Department spokesperson who declined to give their name said the department does not comment on “allegedly leaked documents,” but added: “The Administration has made clear that it defends Americans’ freedom of expression against foreigners who wish to censor them. We do not support aliens coming to the United States to work as censors muzzling Americans.”
The statement continued: “In the past, the President himself was the victim of this kind of abuse when social media companies locked his accounts. He does not want other Americans to suffer this way. Allowing foreigners to lead this type of censorship would both insult and injure the American people.”
