EU retracts threats against Musk, reports say
Brussels has stated that Thierry Breton’s warning letter to X owner Elon Musk was not coordinated with President Ursula von der Leyen. Read Full Article at RT.com.
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Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA), demanded in his letter that Musk regulate potentially "harmful content" on his platform.
“The timing and the wording of the letter were neither co-ordinated or agreed with the president nor with the [commissioners],” stated a spokesperson from the European Commission on Tuesday.
President Ursula von der Leyen was not involved in the approval process of the letter, as conveyed to the Financial Times by another anonymous official.
”Thierry has his own mind and way of working and thinking,” the official elaborated.
People close to Breton explained that while the letter had been planned for some time, Trump's interview provided a critical moment to release it.
In response, Musk posted a meme from the 2008 film 'Tropic Thunder', showcasing Tom Cruise's character exclaiming, “Take a big step back and literally f**k your own face!”
Additionally, Trump's campaign criticized the EU's actions, stating the bloc was attempting to "meddle in the US presidential election" and suggested that the EU should "mind its own business".
EU officials clarified their stance to Politico, asserting their disinterest in affecting elections and emphasizing the importance of proper DSA application.
“The EU is not in the business of electoral interference,” one official declared. “DSA implementation is too important to be misused by an attention-seeking politician in search of his next big job.”
Breton previously announced that the European Commission found X in breach of the DSA, threatening significant fines unless Musk complied with regulations against "hate speech" and "misinformation."
Musk contended, “The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us. The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not.”
Denying such allegations, Breton expressed anticipation for a public legal dispute, allowing European citizens to uncover the truth.
Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022, motivated by what he considered excessive censorship on the platform.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News