Elon Musk’s public spat with the EU this week has reignited debate about regulation of social media companies such as X and TikTok, following last week’s disinformation-fuelled rioting in the UK.
Ahead of the tech billionaire’s online interview with Donald Trump on Monday, EU commissioner Thierry Breton told Musk he was “compelled to remind” the Tesla boss of his “due diligence obligations” under the EU’s Digital Services Act.
The DSA brought the bloc powers to enforce rules around disinformation and advertising, including penalties that can run from large fines to suspending access to online services across the region.
However, Breton’s intervention was quickly disowned by the European Commission, which said the “timing and the wording of the letter were neither co-ordinated or agreed” with fellow commissioners.
While Europe has taken a tougher approach to regulating digital platforms than the US, critics say that even the latest UK and EU rules designed to tame social media platforms do not go far enough to restrain owners such as Musk. Others, meanwhile, argue that the European rules already constrain freedom of speech and that hurling abuse online is different to throwing bricks in a riot.
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