OCTOBER 28, 2022
Elon Musk has finally bought Twitter. While some are happy about his takeover, there are many who are worried about the platform’s credibility and surge in misinformation. Having a similar belief, a top European official has issued a stern warning to the new boss of Twitter, just hours after Musk closed the $44 billion deal.
Thierry Breton, the internal markets commissioner of EU, has warned Musk on Twitter that the micro-blogging site will have to follow EU rules. “In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules,” Breton said in response to Elon Musk’s initial tweet that said, “the bird is freed.”
Earlier this year in May, Breton went to Texas and had a discussion with Musk over his free-speech approach for Twitter. He also reminded him that this approach should remain limited by the EU’s own content moderation laws. At that time, both of them had “no disagreement” over their approach to content being managed or posted on Twitter.
Musk is aware of the fact that a lot of people believe he bought Twitter for all the wrong reasons. In a note posted to advertisers, Musk said that he is not buying Twitter to make more money or to spread hate. He has clarified that he doesn’t want Twitter to “become a free-for-all-hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.”
It will remain free of violence or dangerous posts, which is something that he explained on Twitter. Musk is saying that he wants people to give a platform where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner without resorting to violence.
EU’s Digital Services Act gives the government the power to force big tech companies to limit the spread of illegal, harmful content and act against disinformation. So, if Musk fails to comply with this in the future, then Twitter will face a fine of around 6 percent of annual sales and it could even get banned from the region, according to a report by Bloomberg.
