The European tech regulator who threatened X owner Elon Musk ahead of his Monday interview with former president Donald Trump did so without approval from the European Commission.
Thierry Breton, the European commissioner for the internal market, wrote a letter to Musk on Monday hours before Musk’s live-streamed interview with Trump was set to take place on X. He did so without approval from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the Financial Times reported.
“The timing and the wording of the letter were neither co-ordinated or agreed with the president nor with the [commissioners],” the European Commission said. “The [investigation] on dissemination of illegal content and information manipulation is ongoing, we are looking into it, and of course everything that happens on the platform feeds into this assessment.”
Breton’s letter had been planned weeks ahead of time, and the Trump interview was a “trigger point” for publicizing it, officials close to Breton told the Financial Times.
In the letter, Breton said that European tech regulations required X to balance the importance of free expression with the need to suppress “harmful” content on the platform.
“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 discourse and public security,” Breton said.
With great audience comes greater responsibility #DSA
As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in 🇪🇺 in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk
📧⤵️ pic.twitter.com/P1IgxdPLzn
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) August 12, 2024
Breton’s willingness to limit speech and his apparent attempt to influence U.S. political discourse was met with widespread criticism from conservatives. Musk responded to Breton’s letter with an explicit meme from comedy film Tropic Thunder.
“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,” said X CEO Linda Yaccarino.
The European Commission has already brought proceedings against X under the Digital Services Act over some content on the platform. Musk and X have strongly resisted the European body’s tech regulation package on free speech grounds, because of the blurred lines between handling “harmful” content and suppressing certain political viewpoints.
Upon taking over Twitter, now known as X, Musk fired top executives and turned over internal documents known as the “Twitter Files” to a team of independent journalists. The documents showed how internal Twitter guidelines, and outside pressure from government agencies and third parties, lead to suppression of certain accounts and viewpoints on the platform. Most notably, Twitter censored the Hunter Biden laptop story weeks before the 2020 presidential election, based on false pretenses.
Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, returned to X Monday for the first time in nearly a year. Technical issues on X initially delayed the interview, just like they did when Florida governor Ron DeSantis launched his ill-fated 2024 presidential campaign on the platform.
During the interview, Musk and Trump discussed a wide range of subjects, including the failed assassination attempt on Trump last month. Musk endorsed Trump immediately after the attack, which Trump responded to by pumping his fist and chanting “fight” after a bullet struck his right ear.