Is a U.S. social media policy built around just one person?

One of the more puzzling pieces of American tech and diplomatic policy in the new Trump era was the one recently announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio—a new visa restriction for foreign officials “complicit in censoring Americans”. The restriction would ban entry to the U.S. for foreign officials who impose content moderation over social media posts. Secretary Rubio said it was “unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil.” Among some observers, a theory has taken hold that the law is tailored to a single person: Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. De Moraes is the judge who has personally sparred with both Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. He temporarily blocked X in Brazil and fined the company $5 million. Trump’s media company sued de Moraes in February for ordering the site Rumble to suspend some accounts, saying Rumble provided hosting and video streaming infrastructure to Truth Social. The visa announcement came out in the same month as a reported letter from the U.S. Justice Department to de Moraes, condemning his request to Rumble to suspend accounts. Observers also noted that the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs reposted the visa policy announcement on X in Portuguese—the language of Brazil—but not Spanish, which far more people in the hemisphere speak.