The European Union sent a warning letter to X owner Elon Musk on Monday reminding him of the bloc’s rules against promoting “harmful content” ahead of the billionaire tech mogul’s interview with former President Trump on the social platform.
“With great audience comes greater responsibility,” wrote Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for Internal Market, in a post on X. “As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk.”
The letter reminded Musk that X is subject to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the bloc’s relatively new law regulating illegal content and disinformation on large social media platforms.
Breton noted this includes ensuring X has measures in place to prevent “the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including livestreaming, which, if unaddressed, might increase the risk profile of X and generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security.”
“Let me clarify that any negative effect of illegal content on X in the EU … may be relevant in the context of the ongoing proceedings and of the overall assessment of X’s compliance with EU law,” the commissioner added.
He pointed to the recent violent unrest in the United Kingdom as an example. A spokesperson recently said X’s response to the riots in the U.K. could influence its ongoing investigation into the platform’s compliance with the DSA, according to Reuters.
The warning letter comes ahead of Musk’s interview with Trump on Monday night. Musk, who endorsed the former president’s bid for reelection last month, has said the “live conversation” will be “unscripted with no limits on subject matter.”
X CEO Linda Yaccarino pushed back on the letter in a post on the platform, calling it an “unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US.”
“It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions,” she added.
