US District Judge James Boasberg has granted a preliminary injunction blocking the State Department from enforcing a visa-restriction policy used by the Trump administration to target non-US citizens working in content moderation and related fields. The Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR) challenged the policy, which authorized immigration investigations into individuals suspected of aiding foreign adversaries in manipulating public opinion.

Boasberg's ruling prevents the State Department from enforcing the policy until the CITR's lawsuit is resolved. He noted that the department failed to prove any of the targeted researchers had connections to foreign powers attempting censorship or manipulating US public debate. The judge expressed concern that the policy’s authority had "no clear stopping point short of the [content moderation] field itself."

The injunction was granted broadly, not just to CITR members, as the judge stated that individuals in content moderation, disinformation research, compliance, and advocacy could reasonably fear for their immigration status. Boasberg suggested the policy unfairly weighed the ongoing debate over content moderation, potentially penalizing researchers favoring more moderation in line with President Trump’s views.