US judge blocks Trump administration from deporting UK anti-disinformation campaigner

Key Highlights

• Musk tried unsuccessfully to sue the CCDH last year before calling it a “criminal organisation”. Ahmed is one of five Europeans targeted by the US state department in the past week.
• They have been accused of leading efforts to put pressure on technology firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. Rubio accused the five, who also include the former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, of leading “organised efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetise and suppress American viewpoints they oppose”. Sarah Rogers, an official at the state department, posted on X: “Our message is clear: if you spend your career fomenting censorship of American speech, you’re unwelcome on American soil.”The sanctions are being seen as the latest attack on European regulations that target hate speech and misinformation.
• Campaigners in the UK have said the British government could be targeted further if the Trump administration steps up its attacks on tech regulation. In a statement, Ahmed said: “My life’s work is to protect children from the dangers of unregulated social media and AI and fight the spread of antisemitism online.
• That mission has pitted me against big tech executives – and Elon Musk in particular – multiple times.“I am proud to call the United States my home.
• My wife and daughter are American, and instead of spending Christmas with them, I am fighting to prevent my unlawful deportation from my home country.”Roberta Kaplan, Ahmed’s legal counsel, said: “The state department’s actions here are unjustified and blatantly unconstitutional.”Ahmed was targeted alongside Clare Melford, who is based in the UK and runs the Global Disinformation Index (GDI).