Brussels – The clash between the European Union and Elon Musk rises in tone following the initial signs of tension that emerged late last week over the spread of misinformation on X by the online platform owner himself. A letter sent yesterday (August 12) by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, calling Musk to comply with the obligations of the Digital Services Act on the control of disinformation and illegal content on his platform, was followed by the South African/US entrepreneur’s full-blown insult, as a far more than questionable interview of Musk with the former president and Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, was being staged on X itself.
“I am writing to you in the context of recent events in the United Kingdom and in relation to the scheduled broadcast on your platform X of a live conversation between a US presidential candidate and you, which will also be accessible to users in the EU,” Breton explains in the letter addressed to Musk, echoing the requests from Renew Europe’s liberal leadership to the EU Parliament addressed to the Commissioner for the Internal Market specifically. Compliance with the Digital Services Act, the EU law on digital services that became fully effective in February of this year, concerns, on the one hand, “freedom of expression and information, including media freedom and pluralism,” but on the other hand also “proportionate and effective mitigation measures regarding the amplification of harmful content in relation to relevant events, including live streaming.” As in the case of the “recent examples of public unrest” in the UK, “caused by the amplification of content promoting hatred, unrest, incitement to violence or certain instances of misinformation.” However, there is also the risk implicit in a live-streaming conversation between one of the thorns on the side of the DSA and the most controversial US election candidate.
Former US president and Republican candidate in the November election, Donald Trump, after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024 (credits: Rebecca Droke / Afp)
Because now, online and accessible for all users around the world (including those in the 27 EU member states), there is a confrontation full of fake news and disinformation, without the EU laws apparently being able to do anything about it. A conversation staged last night that saw Musk ask Trump questions in a very friendly manner on complex issues such as migration, inflation, and climate change: although the event was advertised as an interview, all of Trump’s unsubstantiated claims were never challenged. On the contrary, Musk explicitly confirmed that he will support the former US president in the race against the current vice president, Democrat Kamala Harris, in the November election. However, it is in the medium to long term that the Brussels decisions could impact the South African/US billionaire’s platform since the open infringement proceedings against X could lead to fines of up to 6 per cent of global revenues if it is confirmed that the provisions of the Digital Services Act have been violated.
Not to be forgotten, the very obligations of the DSA “apply without exception or discrimination to the moderation of the entire user community and X’s content (including yourself as a user with over 190 million followers) accessible to users in the EU” is Breton’s warning. And all that is going on—including Musk’s insults to Breton—could affect the judgment of the “ineffectiveness of how X applies the relevant provisions of the DSA” in the ongoing proceedings in Brussels. In addition, the Internal Market Commissioner makes it clear that “we will be extremely vigilant about any evidence pointing to violations” of the EU Digital Services Act, so “we will not hesitate to make full use of our toolbox, including by taking interim measures,” should it “be justified to protect EU citizens from serious harm.” But there is no doubt that this will not be the last chapter in the “Breton v. Musk” saga.
The “Breton v. Musk” saga
The saga of a relationship of trust that has never been born between the European Union and Musk, ever since the day of the acquisition of Twitter and its rebranding to X, is a long and articulate one. As early as October 2022, Commissioner Breton warned the South African/US entrepreneur that “in Europe, the little bird [then the symbol of Twitter that today has been replaced with an X, ed.] will fly under our rules,” i.e., those provided by the Digital Services Act. Since August 25 of last year, X has been on the list of 19 gatekeeper platforms that must comply with its obligations (failure to do so carries fines of up to 6 per cent of global turnover), and just after a few months, the EU executive launched an infringement procedure to assess whether the platforms failed to comply with several provisions of the Digital Services Act. Brussels’ preliminary view came last July 12, acknowledging that the Musk-owned social network had already violated European legislation.
In addition to the issue strictly pertaining to the Digital Services Act, as of November 2022, Musk’s company decided prematurely to stop assessing disinformation related to Covid-19, exiting the European reporting program on Big Tech’s responsibility in spreading news related to the pandemic and vaccination campaign. The decision to stop releasing reports on the measures implemented to combat disinformation was defined by the
Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, as “the path of confrontation” followed by the South African/US tycoon. In this context, the April 2023 decision to no longer label media controlled by authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, and Iran and propaganda agencies as “state-affiliated media”, as well as the end of the ban on automatic promotion or recommendation to users of their content, raised enormous controversy.
Even earlier, in December 2022, the von der Leyen Cabinet had already threatened sanctions as a result of the arbitrary suspension of accounts of several journalists dealing with technology and who had been highly critical of new owner Musk. Only a month earlier, the same Commission had spoken out against the temporary closure (still ongoing) of the European office in Brussels, particularly about the consequences in terms of implementing the EU Code of Conduct on Disinformation and the new Digital Services Act. Last in chronological order—until the outbreak of tensions in the UK—on October 10 of last year, a tough exchange had been staged right on X between Commissioner Breton and the platform owner: “Dear Mr Musk, following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have had indications that your platform is being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” had been the warning from the von der Leyen cabinet member. Now, EU institutions are considering whether it is the head of X himself who is the promoter of spreading disinformation and illegal content on the social networking platform.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
