On Monday (12 August), European Commissioner Thierry Breton urged Elon Musk to ensure X adheres to EU regulations and effectively moderates content, ahead of Musk’s planned live-streamed debate with US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
On Monday, the Commissioner for Internal Market sent a letter to Musk, also copied to X CEO Linda Yaccarino, about the planned live broadcast on X of a conversation between the former US president and Musk, which will be accessible also to EU users. The event will take place ahead of November’s American presidential election.
“I understand that you are currently doing a stress test of the platform,” Breton wrote in the letter, referring to the process which involves assessing a platform’s performance under heavy usage to ensure it can handle large volumes of data and activity. He then reminded Musk of the due diligence obligations that must be met during this process.
The interview is expected to be broadcast on Trump’s X account on Monday. His account was banned in 2021 due to its role in inciting the 6 January Capitol riot but he was reinstated in 2022 after Musk acquired the platform.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Elon Musk responded to Breton’s letter with a highly insulting meme butdid not address any of the issues raised in the letter.
The timing and wording of the letter were neither coordinated with President Ursula von der Leyen nor agreed upon with the College of the Commission, Arianna Podestà, the Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson said during the Commission’s midday press briefing on Tuesday (13 August).
Tensions between Musk and the Commission were evident in July when Musk announced plans to sue the Commission over alleged DSA violations related to policy and transparency issues around X’s verified accounts, leading to a debate on X with Breton.
The same month, France’s President Emmanuel Macron proposed to nominate Breton for a second five-year term.
X hit with nine data protection complaints after announcing it will partially suspend data processing for AI training
X was hit with eight data protection complaints across Europe on Monday, just days after it said it will suspend the processing of some EU users’ personal data for AI training.
X’s obligations under EU law
Breton reminded Musk of X’s obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU’s landmark content moderation regulation, in force since 17 February. Under the DSA, X is designated a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), which means it must adhere to strict transparency and risk management rules.
Breton also wrote that X has legal obligations to protect freedom of expression and media pluralism while also mitigating harmful content, particularly during events like live broadcasts.
The Commissioner stated that X must take effective measures against harmful content and ensure the platform’s compliance with EU laws, especially concerning illegal content and disinformation.
“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 the EU, Breton wrote to Musk.
X must also inform EU authorities of measures taken against illegal content, act promptly and objectively on user notices regarding illegal content, update users on actions taken in response to these notices, and publicly report on its content moderation efforts, Breton wrote.
How X's handling of UK riots could influence ongoing EU probe into the platform
An ongoing European Commission investigation into social media platform X could be influenced by the platform’s handling of content related to riots in the UK, a spokesperson said on Friday (9 August).
Concerns remain
Breton highlighted the need for stringent content moderation, especially during significant political or societal events, giving as an example public unrest in the United Kingdom related to content on X.
Breton referred to the European Commission’s ongoing investigation of X, for not adequately addressing illegal content and disinformation under the DSA. The probe began in December 2023 and is partly influenced by X’s handling of content related to the riots in the UK. Although no longer in the EU, harmful content from the UK that reaches EU users may impact the investigation.
Breton urged Musk to ensure that X’s systems are effective and to report the measures taken.
“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,” which could include adopting interim measures, the Commissioner stated in the letter.
Recently, X has faced scrutiny as the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) began court proceedings against it, leading to the platform suspending the use of some of EU users’ data for AI training. Despite this, data protection complaints persisted.
[Edited by Chris Powers]
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X hit with nine data protection complaints after announcing it will partially suspend data processing for AI training
X was hit with eight data protection complaints across Europe on Monday, just days after it said it will suspend the processing of some EU users' personal data for AI training.
