EU warns Elon Musk against ‘amplification of harmful content’ while sitting live with Donald Trump

The European Union’s digital watchdog warned Tesla boss Elon Musk of “amplification of harmful content” on Monday, just ahead of his planned interview with former US President Donald Trump.

EU commissioner threatens action against Elon Musk’s X over hate speech(AP)

The EU’s Digital Commissioner, Thierry Breton, used an open letter to underscore Musk’s legal responsibilities to prevent the spread of hate speech on his social media platform, X (formerly Twiter).

This preemptive warning comes as Trump announced that he would be participating in a “major interview” with Musk, which will be livestreamed on X. “ON MONDAY NIGHT I’LL BE DOING A MAJOR INTERVIEW WITH ELON MUSK — Details to follow!,” he said.

The Tesla boss also posted, “This is unscripted with no limits on subject matter, so should be highly entertaining! If you have specific questions & comments, post them under the chat.”

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Breton made it clear that the EU is monitoring the situation closely, especially since X has already been under scrutiny for allegedly failing to comply with the bloc’s social media regulations. In July, the EU formally charged X for not respecting these laws, and the platform now faces substantial fines if it does not rectify its approach. “As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU,” Breton stated.

EU will not hesitate to take further action against Musk and X

The commissioner warned that the EU would not hesitate to take further action against X if the platform fails to control illegal content. Breton noted that the EU has a “full toolbox” at its disposal, which includes the possibility of implementing interim measures to safeguard EU citizens from online harm.

Trump’s presence on X has been contentious, especially after his account was suspended in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riots. The suspension was due to what the platform described as the “risk of further incitement of violence.” However, Musk reinstated Trump’s account after taking over the platform

While Trump’s account remained largely dormant following its reinstatement, it became active again on Monday, posting campaign advertisements and materials promoting his upcoming interview with Musk. He even ridiculed VP Kamala Harris in his latest post, saying, “Reject San Francisco Radical Kamala Harris.”

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This sudden resurgence prompted Breton’s intervention, with the commissioner sharing the letter on X and reminding Musk that “with great audience comes greater responsibility #DSA,” alluding famous line from Peter Parker aka Spider-Man’s uncle Ben Parker’s famous line, “With great power comes great responsibility.”