A top European Union official warned Elon Musk ahead of Monday night's interview on X with former President Donald Trump about the 27-nation alliance's rules against "amplification of harmful content."
In a letter to Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino that he posted on X, Thierry Breton, a French businessman who is the European Commissioner for Internal Market, wrote "as the individual entity ultimately controlling a platform with over 300 million users worldwide, of which one-third in the EU, that has been designated as a Very Large Online Platform, you have the legal obligation to ensure X's compliance with EU law and in particular the DSA [Digital Services Act] in the EU."
DSA regulations, which took effect in February, reportedly were put in place to monitor social media platforms in Europe by removing content and misinformation. Critics claim the regulations are sweeping and tantamount to censorship.
"This notably means ensuring, on one hand, that freedom of expression and of information, including media freedom and pluralism, are effectively protected and, on the other hand, 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, which, if unaddressed, might increase the risk profile of X and generate detrimental effects on civic disclose and public security," Breton wrote. "This is important against the background of recent examples of public unrest brought about by the amplification of content that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation."
Last month, the EU reportedly claimed that X breached the DSA and that it deceives users through its blue check mark rules. In response, Musk claimed the European Commission tried to make an "illegal secret deal" with the social media platform, posting on X that if his company "quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us. The other platforms accepted the deal. X did not."
Musk threatened to take his case to court over those allegations.
Breton wrote that "any negative effect of illegal content" could lead the EU to take further action against X, using "our full toolbox, including by adopting interim measures, should it be warranted to protect EU citizens from harm."
In response to Breton's letter, Musk posted "Bonjour!" In another post he wrote, "To be honest, I really wanted to respond with this 'Tropic Thunder' meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude & irresponsible!" Musk included the meme, showing Tom Cruise's character Les Grossman in "Tropic Thunder" yelling, "Take a big step back and [expletive] your own face."
Yaccarino posted: "This is an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US. It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions."