Anna‑Lena von Hodenberg, the co‑chief executive of the anti‑hate‑speech organisation Hate‑Aid, says the sanctions imposed by the United States have left her feeling “just a plaything”. In a conversation with the “Rheinische Post”‘s Monday edition she explained that she and her colleague Josephine Ballon have been banned from entering the United States. “The US is sending a warning so that tech billionaires such as Musk won’t have to pay fines” she said. “I would rather never return to the US than watch the Europeans be blackmailed by the Americans”.
von Hodenberg added that Germany and the European Union must make it clear to Washington that companies wishing to earn billions here must comply with EU rules. “What scares me most is that the Digital Services Act might simply be suspended because of the fear of the Americans” she said.
At the same time, Hate‑Aid is preparing for the possibility that Washington could tighten its sanctions. “Since January we and Josephine have been busy figuring out how to restructure so we can continue our work even if sanctions become stricter” she explained. “We’ve secured our data and emptied our PayPal account. Hate‑Aid has 60 employees that we need to pay – we’ve reorganised that as well”.
She noted that such sanctions can hit even the most private areas of life. “I downloaded my photos from Google and stored them elsewhere, and I also saved important documents in my email account” she said. “The travel bans also affect our families, but we’re unsure which relatives are included-only direct family or also distant kin?”