Judge blocks visa policy targeting content moderation researchers

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the State Department from enforcing a visa-restriction policy aimed at some non-U.S. citizens who work in online speech and platform governance. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg granted the preliminary injunction Tuesday while a lawsuit brought by the Coalition for Independent Technology Research continues.

According to Boasberg’s opinion, the order prevents the department from using the policy until the court resolves the coalition’s challenge. The Coalition for Independent Technology Research, or CITR, is seeking to overturn the policy, which it says the Trump administration used in efforts to revoke green cards and remove non-U.S. citizens from the country.

The policy covered people working on misinformation, disinformation, fact-checking, content moderation, compliance, and trust and safety, according to CITR’s challenge as described in the court proceeding. Those fields include researchers and platform specialists whose work can involve studying or limiting false information and enforcing online rules.

Boasberg’s opinion said the policy, as written, does not automatically require visa denials or deportations. Instead, it authorizes immigration investigations of people suspected of helping foreign adversaries try to shape public opinion by suppressing speech in the United States.

The injunction is an interim ruling, not a final decision on the coalition’s claims. Its immediate effect is to stop enforcement of the policy while the lawsuit moves ahead.

CITR described the ruling as a key step in its effort to reverse the visa restrictions. The State Department is barred from applying the policy for now, under Boasberg’s order, unless the injunction is later changed or lifted during the case.

This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.