The New York Times reported Thursday that the European Union may soon levy penalties against Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, under an E.U. law aimed at curbing disinformation, hate speech and other harmful content.
In July, the E.U. released preliminary findings of an investigation that found X had violated the Digital Services Act. Specifically, the E.U. concluded that:
- X’s interface for so-called verified accounts was not in line with industry practice and had been abused by “malicious actors” to deceive users.
- X has created barriers that hinder transparency about advertisements, thwarting “required supervision and research into emerging risks brought about by the distribution of advertising online.”
- X doesn’t comply with the Digital Services Act’s rules around providing public data to researchers who can use it to study the spread of things like disinformation.
The New York Times, citing four people with knowledge of the E.U.’s plans who declined to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, reported that penalties are expected to be announced this summer. The report has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News.
These days, X is a political weapon more than anything else. And Europe is right to want to regulate it.
Earlier this year, Musk seemed to demonstrate how necessary the E.U.’s precautions are when he used X to spread disinformation in hopes of swaying voters toward the far-right, Nazi-friendly Alternative for Deutschland party, or AfD, in Germany’s snap elections. The platform also has apparently quashed dissent against Turkey’s illiberal regime and promoted disinformation in support of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician who stands accused of attempting a coup — to say nothing of the ways it’s been used to spread disinformation in the U.S.
These days, X is a political weapon more than anything else. And Europe is right to want to regulate it.
Predictably, the E.U.’s efforts to deter disinformation and hate speech have angered President Donald Trump and members of his administration, both of which are widely known to promote disinformation and hateful rhetoric online. The White House recently released a memo attacking the Digital Services Act, claiming it unfairly targets American companies and vowing that such regulations “will face scrutiny from the Administration.”
On Thursday, X’s Global Government Affairs team posted a statement saying that the platform “has gone above and beyond to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, and we will use every option at our disposal to defend our business, keep our users safe, and protect freedom of speech in Europe.”
That seems utterly detached from the clear dangers that Musk’s platform has posed to democracy and, frankly, public safety. But when you’re accustomed to operating free from oversight, accountability can feel like oppression.