Between Elon Musk and Brussels, war continues. The European Union is said to be discussing the amount of the fine to inflict on the social network of the head of the Department of American government efficiency. According to information from New York Timesit could even exceed one billion dollars.
“If the information according to which the European Commission is considering coercive measures against X is accurate, it would be an act of unprecedented political censure and an attack on freedom of expression”reacted the platform this Friday, April 4, adding that it would do everything in its power to defend its activities and “Protect freedom of expression in Europe”.
The “Digital Services Act” (DSA), which has fully entered into force in February 2024, does not define what is legal or illegal to publish on the web in the European Union, but forced online platforms to respect the rules of national or European law which set the limits of freedom of expression. The boss of X is thus suspected of not sufficiently fighting disinformation and illegal content. The investigation opened by the European Commission in 2023 should make its conclusions by the summer.
A second investigation
Accused of letting hate messages proliferate on his platform and manipulating his algorithms to support political parties (such as AFD in Germany) in Europe, Tesla CEO is targeted by a second survey. The European Union believes that X has become a hub for hate speech, disinformation and other content affecting democracy in the 27 member states.
In early January, the former European commissioner, Thierry Breton, had even mentioned a temporary suspension of the social network on the continent with regard to European regulations. As a reminder, other platforms have already been sanctioned by the EU. European regulators, for example, has inflicted Meta from billions of euros in fines for violation of data protection and competition rules in recent years.
