MPs should ‘question consciences’ on using X, says campaigner sanctioned by US

Politicians using Elon Musk’s X should “question their consciences”, an anti-disinformation campaigner facing deportation from the US has said.

Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), was sanctioned by Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday, with officials accusing him of trying to “censor” social media platforms such as X, formerly Twitter.

On Friday, Mr Ahmed said the influence of big tech firms, including Mr Musk’s platform, was behind the bid to remove him from the US, where he is a legal permanent resident.

Speaking to the Press Association, he said the sanctions were “actually a story about the corrupting influence of big tech and big money in Washington”.

He described the tech firms as “arrogant”, “indifferent to the harm they cause” and “sociopathic in their greed”.

Asked whether he thought UK politicians should continue to use X, he told PA: “Politicians have to make decisions for themselves, but every time they post on X, they are putting a buck in Mr Musk’s pocket and I think they need to question their own consciences and ask themselves whether or not they think they can carry on doing that.”

Mr Ahmed, a former Labour adviser, has previously found himself in conflict with big tech, and particularly Mr Musk, who sued CCDH unsuccessfully last year over its claims there had been a rise in hate speech and disinformation on his website.

The campaigner said it was “telling that Mr Musk was one of the first and most vociferous in celebrating the press release” announcing the sanctions against him.

He told PA: “He said it was great, and it is great, but not for the reasons that he thinks.

“Because what it has actually done is give a chance for the system to show that the advocacy that we do is both important and protected by the first amendment.”

Mr Ahmed is one of five Europeans issued with visa bans by the US over allegations of “censorship”, including Clare Melford, chief executive of the UK-based Global Disinformation Index.

As a green card holder, Mr Ahmed holds legal permanent residency in the US, where he lives with his American wife and child.

But the sanctions mean this status could be revoked leaving him vulnerable to deportation.

Since being sanctioned, Mr Ahmed has secured a court order preventing his arrest or deportation ahead of a hearing on December 29 to consider a legal complaint he has made against the sanctions.

Mr Ahmed told PA he had “complete faith in the system” to uphold his rights, and looked forward to the hearing.

His lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said the speed with which the temporary court order was granted showed it was “obvious” that the US government’s actions were “blatantly unconstitutional”.

She said: “Americans should be grateful for our clients’ courageous work to combat antisemitism, racism, as well as efforts to harm young children on social media.

“The federal government can’t deport a green card holder like Imran Ahmed, with a wife and young child who are American, simply because it doesn’t like what he has to say.”

The Trump administration has signalled the sanctions could be followed by further action, potentially targeting serving politicians or officials.

Other Europeans hit with travel bans were the former EU commissioner responsible for supervising social media rules, Thierry Breton, and Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of German organisation HateAid.

Announcing the sanctions, US secretary of state Marco Rubio accused the group of leading “efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose”.

Sarah Rogers, the US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, said Mr Ahmed was sanctioned because he was a “key collaborator” with Joe Biden’s administration’s efforts to “weaponise the government” against US citizens.

She said the CCDH had called for social media sites to “de-platform” anti-vaccine campaigners – including the now health secretary Robert F Kennedy – and had backed measures, including the UK’s Online Safety Act, “to expand censorship” around the world.

Mr Ahmed has links to senior Labour figures, having worked as an adviser to now-Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn during his time as shadow foreign secretary.

Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, was listed as a director at the CCDH before resigning in April 2020, according to Companies House records.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “While every country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions which are working to keep the internet free from the most harmful content.”