US may deny visas to fact-checkers and content-moderation workers

New US State Department instructions to reject applicants with trust and safety or fact-checking backgrounds raise concerns for Indian tech workers

The Donald Trump administration has instructed US embassy officials to reject visa applicants who have previously worked in fact-checking, content moderation, trust and safety, compliance, or online safety roles, according to a State Department memo first reported by Reuters. The move is expected to affect a wide pool of technology workers, including a large number of applicants from India.

 

The memo directs consular officers to refuse visas for anyone considered “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States.” Although the rule applies across visa categories, it places particular attention on the H-1B route, used by highly skilled foreign workers.

 

What will consular officers review?

 

Officers are expected to examine applicants’ professional histories, LinkedIn profiles, and social media activity to determine whether they have been involved in areas such as misinformation response, content moderation, trust and safety operations, or compliance work. Any such involvement could be used to declare an applicant ineligible for entry.

 

The administration has linked the policy to concerns about free speech, pointing to Donald Trump’s own social media bans after the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.

 

A State Department spokesperson, quoted by The Guardian, said, “While we do not comment on allegedly leaked documents, make no mistake, 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 US to work as censors muzzling Americans. Allowing foreigners to lead this type of censorship would both insult and injure the American people.”

 

Tech experts push back

 

Professionals in the trust and safety space say the policy misrepresents what their work involves.

 

“I’m alarmed that trust and safety work is being conflated with ‘censorship’,” said Alice Goguen Hunsberger, vice president of trust and safety at PartnerHero, in comments to NPR. “Trust and safety is a broad practice which includes critical and life-saving work to protect children and stop child sexual abuse material, as well as preventing fraud, scams, and sextortion. Having global workers at tech companies in trust and safety absolutely keeps Americans safer.”

 

A broader clampdown on media and information roles

 

This year, the administration has:

 

• Restricted visas for foreign journalists

• Removed references to climate change from government websites

• Barred several journalists from White House briefings

• Sued media organisations

 

In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, “Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of travelling to our country. Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over.”