A European Union regulator warned Elon Musk about the need for X to comply with EU laws restricting harmful content on online platforms ahead of his interview with former President Trump on Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. ET.
European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services Thierry Breton wrote on X that, “With great audience comes greater responsibility” and added, “As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in [the EU] in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk.”
“As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU,” Breton wrote of the Musk-Trump interview. “Therefore, we are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.”
Breton reminded Musk of X’s due diligence obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires platforms like X to moderate illegal content and content that is deemed a risk to public security.
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“This notably means, on one hand, that freedom of expression and of information, including media freedom and pluralism, are effectively protected and, on the other hand, that all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including live streaming, which, if unaddressed, might increase the risk profile of X and generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security,” Breton explained.
“This is important against the background of recent examples of public unrest brought about by the amplification of content that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation,” Breton wrote.
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EU regulators are currently investigating X over the “dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of measures taken to combat disinformation.” Breton said that X’s handling of illegal content may be relevant amid the EU’s ongoing oversight of the platform.
“Let me clarify that any negative effect of illegal content on X in the EU, which could be attributed to the ineffectiveness of the way in which X applies the relevant provisions of the DSA, may be relevant in the context of the ongoing proceedings and of the overall assessment of X’s compliance with EU law,” Breton wrote.
“This is in line with what has already been done in the recent past, for example in relation to the repercussions and amplification of terrorist content or content that incites violence, hate and racism in the EU, such as in the context of the recent riots in the United Kingdom,” he added.
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Musk initially replied to Breton’s letter with a post on X saying, “Bonjour!” He followed that up with a post critical of censorship.
He later quoted Breton’s post and wrote, “To be honest, I really wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude & irresponsible!” The meme depicted a character from the movie Tropic Thunder with text saying, “Take a big step back and literally, f— your own face!”
Musk’s interview of former President Trump comes after he endorsed his campaign for the White House and acknowledged providing funds to a pro-Trump super PAC.
The Trump interview will be streamed live on X, and Musk said the platform is doing stress tests to ensure it doesn’t crash like it did when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his presidential campaign on the social media site then known as Twitter.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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