Musk slams 'utterly false' reports of X (aka Twitter) block in Europe

Business Insider had reported that the billionaire was considering the move in response to EU regulations

Elon Musk has slammed Business Insider for publishing what he called a false report that suggested he was planning to block access to X, formerly known as Twitter, across Europe in response to EU moderation regulations.

Citing a “person familiar with the company,” the outlet had published an article on Thursday claiming that the billionaire was considering the move in response to an EU compliance investigation launched by the European Commission. 

However, in response to an X post reporting on the Business Insider article, Musk himself commented that the allegation was “utterly false” and slammed the outlet as “not a real publication.”

The Business Insider report came after EU Commissioner Thierry Breton announced an official investigation last week into X’s compliance with the so-called Digital Services Act (DSA) and requested detailed information about the platform’s actions to mitigate toxic content on the microblogging service.

The DSA was introduced in August and requires online platforms like X to have transparent systems in place for moderation and the removal of “illegal content,” such as illegal hate speech, and that they mitigate other “societal risks.”

Days before launching the investigation, Breton claimed he had received "indications" that Musk's platform was allowing the dissemination of illegal content following the attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel and demanded that the microblogging service take immediate action.

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“I invite you to urgently ensure that your systems are effective, and report on the crisis measures taken to my team,” the commissioner told Musk in a letter, adding that he also expects the billionaire to be “in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol” and respond “promptly to their requests.”

Musk responded to Breton’s letter by stressing that X’s policy is that “everything is open source and transparent” and urged the commissioner to publicly list the violations he alluded to in an X post “so that the public can see them.”

Breton has not responded to Musk’s proposal.

If X is found to have failed to comply with the DSA, the EU could impose harsh sanctions, including fining the company up to 6% of its global annual turnover and banning it from the EU Single Market.