Elon Musk and his fight for free speech continue to be attacked worldwide. The European Union (EU) has threatened to ban Twitter for Europeans unless the CEO adheres to their strict content moderation dictates.
With Congress and world leaders attacking Musk’s efforts daily, it’s becoming more evident than ever that “Big Brother” is on the horizon.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the bloc’s digital rules, said during a meeting with Musk on Wednesday that Twitter must follow a checklist of practices. The commissioner included Musk’s approach to reinstating banned users on the platform.
Twitter is at risk of violating the EU’s new Digital Services Act, which supposedly sets the global standard for how Big Tech must police content online. Breton says if Twitter breaches the law, it could face a Europe-wide ban or fines of up to 6% of annual revenue.
Musk isn’t opposed to the rules. He read the DSA and found it to be very sensible. However, the meeting appears to be in response to Musk’s loose approach to content moderation, which has been explained as only targeting illegal comments or those promoting violence.
The EU required that Musk provide clear rules on who could be banned from the platform. Reportedly, Breton is concerned about the reinstatements of users such as Andrew Tate.
Elon Musk meets with EU to battle myth regarding Twitter changes https://t.co/V4De1vK1LM
— Jim Bourke (@JimBourke) October 31, 2022
As Musk tries to figure out where Twitter is going, policies have been changed several times since the October takeover.
Twitter has dumped its Covid misinformation policy in the last week and demonetized hateful posts. Musk calls the new hate speech policy “freedom of speech, but not of reach.”
