The Trump administration may deny H1-B visas to people who worked in content moderation, the report says

The Trump administration has ordered US consulates to consider denying H1-B visa applicants involved in content moderation or “censorship,” according to To report from Reuters. A State Department cable seen by the outlet states that officials should check an applicant’s resume or LinkedIn profile for employment history that includes moderation, fact-checking, online safety, compliance, and misinformation.

As reported ReutersThe policy applies to all visa applicants, but is directed at people applying for an H1-B visa who may have a history of working at “social media or financial services companies engaged in the suppression of protected expression,” the cable says. Many technology companies, such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, Recruiting highly skilled workers on H1-B visas.

“If you discover evidence that the applicant was responsible for or complicit in censoring or attempting to censor protected expression in the United States, you should seek a finding that the applicant is ineligible,” the cable says. Reuters. “You should carefully explore their employment history to ensure they are not engaged in such activities.”

“People who study misinformation and work on content moderation teams are not engaging in ‘censorship’ — they are engaging in activities that the First Amendment is designed to protect,” Carrie DeSelle, senior staff attorney and legislative counsel at Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, said in a statement. “This policy is incoherent and unconstitutional.”

When asked about the new immigration screening process, a State Department spokesperson said: Reuters The agency does not comment on “alleged leaked documents,” but added, “We do not support foreigners coming to the United States to act as censors in gagging the mouths of Americans.” The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond EdgeRequest for comment.