Connect with us

Tech

EU digital chief warns Elon Musk to comply with law ahead of Trump interview

Published

1 month ago

on

EU digital chief warns Elon Musk to comply with law ahead of Trump interview

EU industry chief Thierry Breton told billionaire Elon Musk in a letter on Monday he must comply with EU law ahead of Musk’s interview with US presidential candidate Donald Trump on social media platform X.

The interview, scheduled for 8pm Eastern Time, will also be accessible to users in the European Union, Breton wrote, adding: “In this context, I am compelled to remind you of the due diligence obligations set out in the Digital Services Act (DSA).”

“DSA obligations 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, Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union, wrote in his letter.

The DSA law requires very large platforms to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security.

Last month, EU tech regulators ruled that X, formerly Twitter, breached the DSA and that it deceived users through its use of blue checkmarks.
X said it disagreed with the EU’s assessment on how it complies with the DSA while owner Musk threatened litigation.
Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services. Photo: dpa
On Monday morning, Trump returned to X for the first time in a year, posting a video that highlighted his claim that the four criminal prosecutions he faces are politically motivated.

He quickly followed with a half-dozen other posts, a potential indication he will be more active on X going forward.

His last X post before Monday was one in August 2023 appealing for donations and showing a mugshot after he was arrested in Atlanta in relation to felony charges tied to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.

Trump’s access to his account, @realDonaldTrump, was restored a month into Musk’s ownership of X after being suspended by the platform’s previous owners following the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress by his supporters.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading