Four separate sources have told a leading U.S. newspaper that European Union regulators are preparing to punish Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, for noncompliance with the Digital Services Act. In an investigation starting in 2023, it was ruled that content on X—and the platform’s self-regulation arrangements—fell foul of Brussels’ policy. It was also reported that X’s light-touch approach to user-generated content has filled the site and app with “hate speech” and “disinformation,” hence the possibility of further penalties.
Speaking for the European Commission, a representative said
We have always enforced and will continue to enforce our laws fairly and without discrimination toward all companies operating in the EU, in full compliance with global rules.
X responded to the New York Times coverage by vowing to “protect freedom of speech in Europe” and accusing the EU of preparing
an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on free speech.
The newspaper speculates that the EU is still at a cautionary stage in its actions, weighing up “the risks of further antagonizing Mr. Musk and President Trump.” Once again, such moves reveal the gap between U.S. innovation and Brussels’ reign of regulation—one builds, while the other bans.
