The European Commission will not comment further on the insults by the owner of X, Elon Musk, against Commissioner Thierry Breton, a spokesperson for the community institution said today.
Breton warned Musk yesterday that I should comply with legal obligations imposed by the EU’s digital regulation hours – including mitigation measures proportionate and effective in relation to the amplification of harmful content – before the billionaire will interview the Republican candidate live on his platform American Donald Trump.
In response to Breton’s tweet, Musk replied, citing a satirical film occurrence American ‘Tropic Thunder’, inviting the Commissioner “to step back and literally fuck his own face”.
When asked how this might affect the Commission’s relationship with Xwhich is already being investigated for non-compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), a spokesperson for the Community Executive said that the institution “does not comment on comments.”
Last December, the Commission launched an investigationabout X under the DSA by the disinformation management on the social media platform. In the preliminary conclusions published Last month, the Commission stated that trademarks blue verifications used on the platform are misleading. In response, Musk accused the EU of offering a secret agreement to enforce it. Breton denied the existence of such an agreement.
Implications for the European Union
Asked whether Breton coordinated his letter within the Commission, the spokesperson said today that “the commissioner represented a general concern“by the rules that the Large Online Platforms under the DSA they have to agree, but “the timing and wording were not coordinated with the president and not with the College.”
“The letter was of a general nature, and Trump’s interview “was an example of a major event that can have repercussions in the EU,” the spokesperson added. Breton argued in the letter that, although the interview took place outside the EUwhat was said during the live event could affect public order in the EU and therefore fall within the scope of the DSA.
In a similar move, the EU executive said last week that X’s answer to the incidents after the Southport attack in the UK could also be taken into account in the DSA investigation.
X was first used as tool to spread misinformation on the stabbing and the ensuing violenceand later became a channel for Musk to criticize the Prime Minister and amplify rhetoric that has sparked further attacks.
