Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has recently faced threats from the European Union that he must censor “harmful content” on his social media platform X, or the company could face repercussions. EU industry chief Thierry Breton issued a letter that claimed users on X had been circulating harmful content regarding violence surrounding migrants and Muslim gangs.
The letter stated in part, “I am compelled to remind you of the due diligence obligations set out in the Digital Services Act (DSA),” Breton said. “As the individual entity ultimately controlling a platform with over 300 million users worldwide, of which one third in the EU, that has been designated as a Very Large Online Platform, you have the legal obligation to ensure X’s compliance with EU law and in particular the DSA in the EU.”
The statement further stressed that content on X had allegedly amplified the events in the UK through the promotion of negativity. “This is important against the background of recent examples of public unrest brought about by the amplification of content that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation,” he added.
Breton further stated, “As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU. Therefore, we are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.”
Musk directly replied to the EU bureaucrat, with a meme reference to the movie Tropic Thunder. “To be honest, I really wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude & irresponsible!” Elon wrote. He attached a photo of Tom Cruise’s character in the movie with the caption, “Take a big step back and literally, f*** your own face.”
The American Tribune recently reported on other news from Elon Musk in which he hosted a critically acclaimed interview with former President Donald Trump on X. During the conversation, Musk stressed that moderates should vote for Trump in the upcoming election, claiming that the country was at a critical junction.
“I’ve not been very political before. [The media] try to paint me as a far-right guy, which is absurd because I like to make electric vehicles,” Musk told Trump. “I supported Obama — I stood in line for six hours to shake Obama’s hand [and] historically I was a moderate Democrat.”
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“And I’m just trying to point out that my track record historically has been moderate, if not moderate slightly left. And so this is to people out there who are in the moderate camp to say, I think you should support Donald Trump for president, and I think it’s actually a very important juncture in the road, and we’re in deep trouble if it goes the other way,” Musk said
Trump said it was an “honor” to have Musk’s endorsement while commenting that he had always thought of the billionaire as a Democrat. “Well, I want to thank you. And you know, I actually always did think of you as somewhat left. I must say that, so it’s even more of an honor to have your endorsement,” Trump added. Watch the interview below: