The European Union (EU) on Monday issued a stern warning to Elon Musk, urging him to curb the spread of harmful content on his social media platform, X.
This came just hours before the tech billionaire is set to interview former US President Donald Trump live on the platform.
The EU’s internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, reminded Musk of his legal obligations under the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which mandates that digital platforms actively police and remove illegal content and disinformation to protect users.
Breton’s letter, posted on X, emphasised that these obligations apply universally across the platform, including to Musk himself, who has over 190 million followers.
“With great audience comes greater responsibility,” Breton wrote, underscoring the risks associated with the amplification of potentially harmful content within the EU.
He specifically cited Musk’s upcoming interview with Trump and recent inflammatory comments regarding far-right riots in the United Kingdom as examples of content that could incite violence, hate, and racism.
Breton warned that the EU is closely monitoring the situation and would not hesitate to take action if X is found to be in violation of the DSA.
“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.
“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, including by adopting interim measures, should it be warranted to protect EU citizens from serious harm,” Breton wrote.
Since acquiring the platform in 2022, Musk has been accused of transforming X into a platform for right-wing conspiracy theories.
A new analysis from the Center for Countering Digital Hate revealed that Musk’s false or misleading claims about the US elections have garnered nearly 1.2 billion views on X.
