The EU’s internal market chief Thierry Breton has urged X owner Elon Musk to comply with legal obligations under the EU’s digital rulebook hours before the billionaire is expected to interview US Republican candidate Donald Trump live on his platform.
In the letter, published on X, Breton says that Musk has a “legal obligation” to ensure that “all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including live streaming.”
Failure to put such measures in place could “increase the risk profile of X and generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security,” Breton added.
The conversation between Musk and Trump is expected to be streamed live from Trump’s X channel at 08.00 ET on Monday (01.00 CET on Tuesday).
The Republican candidate aiming to return to the White House in November’s US Presidential election made a return to X earlier on Monday. His account was restored following Musk’s acquisition of the platform in 2022, a year after the former US president was banned for inciting the 2021 Capitol attacks.
Musk has been in the EU’s crosshairs since his takeover of X. The bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) classifies X and 19 other platforms as ‘very large’ online platforms or search engines, requiring them to comply with the most stringent of the EU’s digital regulations.
It’s led to tensions between the US billionaire and the EU’s internal market chief Breton, who has been nominated by French President Emmanuel Macron to serve a second term in Brussels.
Musk announced he was suing the European Commission in July after the EU executive accused him of breaching the DSA through a lack of transparency in the so-called ‘blue check’ verification programme.
“Be our guest,” was Breton’s response in July. “See you (in court or not),” he added.
Commission services ‘extremely vigilant’
But Monday’s correspondence suggests heightened concern in Brussels regarding X’s role in spreading content that has the potential to incite violence or public disorder.
Breton specifically refers to X’s role in the recent unrest in the United Kingdom, which Musk has himself been accused of stoking.
“I note that the 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,” Breton said.
While the UK lies outside the EU’s regulatory orbit since its formal exit from the bloc in 2020, the EU executive has sounded the alarm over the potential overspill of content published in the UK to audiences in the EU.
“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,” the Commissioner added.
X has an estimated 300 million users worldwide, around a third of which are in the EU.
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