Elon Musk seems to be considering a solution to avoid complying with the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union: block X (formerly known as Twitter) nationwideas revealed Business Insider.
According to sources from the aforementioned media, the executive, who acquired the social network a year ago for $44 billion, is studying the possibility of remove the app throughout Europe or, at least, block access to the platform for users in the European Union.
The objective, we reiterate, is to avoid the Digital Services Law which, among other measures, demands companies to “mitigate risks such as disinformation or electoral manipulation”. It is precisely something that X (Twitter) does not take into account. The platform, in order to defend freedom of expression, allows users to publish any content. Proof of this is the wave of disinformation related to the war between Israel and Hamas.
The executive has also made abrupt changes regarding the possibility of combating misinformation on the platform. Among them, the dismissal of the majority of X moderators.
Elon Musk, furthermore, cannot simply violate the Digital Services Law, since the European Union is very strict with those companies that ignore the prohibitions and measures. In fact, The fine for violating the DSA is up to 6% of the company’s turnover. In the case of X (Twitter), the last known valuation is $4.4 billion. The fine, therefore, would correspond to 264 million dollars.
Elon Musk stated, even before buying X (Twitter), that he would comply with the DSA
Elon Musk’s intention to ban Twitter in Europe to avoid the Digital Services Act also contradicts what the tycoon stated more than a year ago, even before acquiring Twitter. ““Anything my companies can do that is beneficial for Europe, we want to do.”indicated the magnate together with Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services.
Thierry Breton himself, however, recently highlighted that X/Twitter is being used to spread disinformation and illegal content about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Both Breton and Musk had an interaction in which the Twitter owner claimed to be a transparent company, “something the EU supports,” he said. He also called for the European Union to publicly share X’s violations so that everyone can see them.
Breton, for his part, told Musk that he “is well aware of the complaints from his users—and from the authorities—about false content and glorification of violence.” And he is the one who has to prove what he says.
In any case, Elon Musk’s plan to block X in the European Union It would be something similar to what Meta does with Threads, the alternative to what was previously called Twitter. Threads, specifically, is not available in Europe because it does not comply with the Digital Services Law. The company, however, confirmed that they are working on making the European Union users able to access the new social network.