Tech researchers sue US Trump administration over visa bans

A coalition of tech experts on Monday sued US President Donald Trump's administration over a policy resulting in visa denials, detention or deportation for researchers and fact-checkers reporting on social media platforms.

A coalition of tech experts on Monday sued US President Donald Trump's administration over a policy resulting in visa denials, detention or deportation for researchers and fact-checkers reporting on social media platforms.

The nonpartisan Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR) filed the lawsuit in a federal court in the US capital, naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants.

The suit follows the administration's decision in December to impose visa sanctions on five European figures involved in regulating tech platforms, reiterating its longstanding assertion that such work amounted to a form of online censorship.

"The Trump administration is engaged in a brazen and far-reaching campaign of censorship while cynically and falsely claiming that censorship is what it is fighting," the suit said.

"Defendants have adopted a new policy of excluding and deporting noncitizens whose work involves combatting misinformation and disinformation, fact-checking, content moderation, trust and safety, or compliance."

In May last year, Rubio announced a "visa restriction policy" aimed at foreign officials and other individuals who are allegedly "complicit in censoring Americans."