EU Threatens to Take Action Against X Following Musk’s Interview with Trump

August 13, 2024 TruthUSA

There is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in the European Union (EU) in connection with events with major audience around the world,’ the official wrote.

The EU’s internal market regulator issued a warning letter to X owner Elon Musk ahead of his interview with former President Donald Trump on the platform, stating that “interim measures” could be taken against the social media site.

Thierry Breton, the commissioner for internal market, sent a letter to Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino regarding the Trump broadcast that took place on Monday evening.

“With great audience comes greater responsibility,” Breton wrote in the letter, posted on X. “As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to [Elon Musk].”

Regulations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) “apply without exceptions or discrimination to the moderation of the whole user community and content of X (including yourself as a user with over 190 million followers) which is accessible to EU users and should be fulfilled in line with the risk-based approach of the DSA, which requires greater due diligence in case of a foreseeable increase of the risk profile,” Breton wrote.

The interview was accessible to users in the EU, Breton wrote, adding, “In this context, I am compelled to remind you of the due diligence obligations set out in the Digital Services Act.”

“My services and I will be extremely vigilant to any evidence that points to breaches of the DSA and will not hesitate to make full use of our toolbox,” which could include adoption of the interim measures, he said.

Breton did not elaborate on the measures the EU could take. However, in previous warnings to Musk on separate issues, Breton warned that X could be fined up to 6 percent of annual revenue.

The DSA law mandates very large platforms to do more to address what they consider illegal content and risks to public security.

Recently, EU tech regulators determined that X violated the DSA and misled users with its use of blue checkmarks. X refuted the EU’s evaluation of its compliance with the DSA, and Musk threatened legal action.

X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, responded to the letter by asserting that it is an “unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe” to target political activities within the United States.

Musk reacted to Breton’s letter with a meme that contained a vulgar word. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, wrote that the EU “should mind their own business” and accused them of trying to interfere in the U.S. election in November.

The EU, he added, “has no authority of any kind to dictate how we campaign.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU, for comment. A spokesperson for the commission told the Financial Times that Breton did not have approval from EU President Ursula von der Leyen to send the letter to Musk.

“The timing and the wording of the letter were neither coordinated or agreed with the president nor with the [commissioners],” the spokesperson said Tuesday.

In July, the EU accused Musk’s X of violating the DSA for allegedly deceiving users by allowing them to purchase a blue “verified” account status. Musk said he would engage in a “very public battle” with European regulators in court.

During the Trump–Musk event on X, technical problems delayed its start by about 40 minutes. Musk, a Trump supporter, attributed the issues to a distributed denial-of-service attack, but this claim could not be verified.

Trump tried to spin the issues positively by praising Musk for the number of people attempting to tune in.

X said that Trump’s talk with Musk received 73 million views between 7:47 p.m. and 10:47 p.m. ET, with 4 million posts about the event garnering nearly 1 billion views during that period.

The technical difficulties evoked memories of a similar event on X in May 2023, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faced glitches during the start of his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

On the same day, Musk expressed willingness to host Vice President Kamala Harris for an interview on his platform.

Trump also made a return to X with a series of posts, marking his first activity on the platform in about a year. He used the account primarily for his campaign-related messages, including videos highlighting his achievements and proposing plans if re-elected.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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