The European Union has sparked outrage after ordering Elon Musk to censor his interview with ex-President Donald Trump.
Brussels’ digital enforcer Thierry Breton penned an open letter to the tech mogul ahead of his interview with Trump to remind him of the EU’s rules on promoting hate speech.
He warned the world’s richest man about his legal obligation to stop the “amplification of harmful content”.
The EU already charged X, formerly known as Twitter, in July for failing to respect the continental club’s social media laws.
Musk purchased the social media platform in 2022 but it now faces multi-million euro fines.
Breton said: “As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU.”
He also stressed that “any negative effect of illegal content” could lead the EU to take further action against X, using “our full toolbox, including by adopting interim measures, should it be warranted to protect EU citizens from harm”.
Trump was suspended from X following the January 6 riots at the US Capitol.
However, following Musk’s decision to reinstate his account, the 45th President unexpectedly began posting again yesterday.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
With great audience comes greater responsibility #DSA
As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in 🇪🇺 in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk
📧⤵️ pic.twitter.com/P1IgxdPLzn
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) August 12, 2024
Responding to Breton, Musk said: “Take a big step back and literally, f**k your own face!”
The Tesla CEO has found himself at loggerheads with a number of high-profile British politicians since riots spread across England and Northern Ireland.
Musk is embroiled in a bitter spat with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf.
During last night’s interview, which was delayed due to a number of tech glitches, Trump took aim at the Brussels bloc.
Rather than addressing the EU’s open letter to Musk, Trump claimed the continental club “takes great advantage” of the US.
Donald Trump ReutersSlamming the EU over its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 45th President added: “Why is the United States paying disproportionately more to defend Europe than Europe?
“That doesn’t make sense. That’s unfair, and that is an appropriate thing to address.”
The House of Commons last month released an updated report about military assistance provided to the ex-Soviet state.
It revealed the US remains the largest provider of assistance, totalling €75.1billion since Putin’s troops crossed the border in February 2022.
To date, the EU has committed almost €40billion, including €5billion for a dedicated Ukraine Assistance Fund which was agreed in March 2024.
Source Agencies
