According to the regulations, if Musk, the owner of X, fails to comply, he could face a substantial fine of up to 6 per cent of his revenues from X or a complete blackout of his platform within the EU. Thierry Breton, the commissioner responsible for enforcing the Digital Services Act, has written a letter to Musk urging him to promptly respond to the request to contact Europol, the EU’s police enforcement agency, and other relevant law enforcement agencies within the next 24 hours.
Breton emphasized the need for Musk to implement “proportionate and effective mitigation measures” to combat the risks to public security and civic discourse arising from disinformation. In his letter, Breton highlighted widespread reports from public media and civil society organizations regarding the circulation of fake and manipulated images and false information on Musk’s platform in the EU. These include instances of repurposed old images from unrelated armed conflicts or military footage sourced from video games, which are misleading and false.
Moreover, Breton expressed concerns about Musk’s compliance with the Digital Services Act, particularly in light of recent changes to X’s public interest policies. Musk had previously withdrawn from a voluntary code of practice established by the EU to help social media platforms comply with the new regulations.
Breton’s letter stressed two key points. Firstly, Musk must be transparent and clear about what content is allowed on X and consistently enforce the platform’s policies, especially concerning violent and terrorist content. Secondly, when X receives notices of illegal content in the EU, it must respond promptly, diligently, and objectively, removing the relevant content when necessary.Breton urged Musk to ensure the effectiveness of X’s systems and report immediately to the EU regarding the crisis measures taken. He also called on Musk to cooperate with law enforcement authorities and Europol and promptly respond to their requests. The EU has clarified that those who do not participate in the voluntary code of practice will not be able to argue “mitigating” factors in case of punitive measures imposed by Brussels.Breton concluded by stating that Musk’s response would be included in the assessment of X’s compliance with the Digital Services Act. He reminded Musk that penalties could be imposed following a potential investigation and a finding of non-compliance. X has faced scrutiny due to concerns about fake posts and Musk’s endorsement of accounts that had made false claims or antisemitic comments regarding war coverage. Musk recommended two accounts, @WarMonitors and @sentdefender, for real-time war updates, prompting further scrutiny of content on the platform.
What Elon Musk says
In response to Breton’s tweet, Musk asked the commissioner to make a list of the X violations that need to be fixed.
“Our policy is that everything is open source and clear, and I know that the EU agrees with this. The violations you talk about on X should be written down so that everyone can see them. “Thank you very much,” Musk said.
To this, Breton replied that X is aware that users and authorities are reporting fake content on the site.
“See, thanks. “You are well aware of what your users and the police have said about fake content and glorifying violence,” Breton said.
“It’s up to you to show that you mean what you say.” “My team is still available to help you make sure that the DSA is followed, and the EU will continue to be very strict about this,” he said.