Europe to Elon Musk: Twitter must play by our rules

Europe has its ain connection for Elon Musk that it hopes volition descend in: He’s astir to look immoderate of the world’s toughest online moderation rules and Brussels isn’t going to backmost down.

Musk, who made headlines by bringing a descend to Twitter HQ arsenic helium took implicit the large societal media platform, has European policymakers up successful arms, with officials and lawmakers lining up to pass the billionaire that he’ll person to abide by the bloc’s presumption and activists leaning connected Brussels to reappraisal his acquisition.

The Digital Services Act entered the EU’s authoritative rulebook past week and allows authorities to bid integer companies to instrumentality down amerciable contented based connected EU and nationalist law, and demands that platforms reappraisal contented flagged by users. 

Musk — who is mostly known arsenic the CEO of electric-car shaper Tesla, but present goes by “Chief Twit” successful his Twitter bio — has repeatedly said helium volition abide by section laws, and stressed that nary changes were made to Twitter’s existent content-moderation policy. 

But Europe is good alert of Musk’s positioning arsenic a “free-speech absolutist.” Whatever Musk is up to with Twitter, his advent arsenic its brag volition relation arsenic a accent trial for the EU’s content-moderation policy: It’s 1 happening to gully up rules for a safer internet; it’s different to enforce them. 

“We person spoken [about the DSA], we person done it, present we person to apply,” Sandro Gozi, 1 of the pb lawmakers connected caller governmental advertizing rules, said Monday. 

Elon’s escapades

Musk has made nary concealed that helium regards Twitter arsenic a “public municipality square,” wherever each speech, nary substance however divisive oregon questionable, should beryllium allowed — saying successful March that failing to bash truthful could adjacent “undermine democracy.”   

In backstage texts made public during ineligible proceedings with Twitter implicit Musk’s attempts to telephone disconnected the acquisition, Musk expressed concerns astir the EU’s determination to prohibition Russian authorities media websites, specified arsenic RT, aft Russia invaded Ukraine successful February. 

“We [SpaceX, Musk’s abstraction institution providing outer internet] person been told to artifact [RT’s] IP address. Actually, I find their quality rather entertaining. Lot of bullshit, but immoderate bully points too,” Musk wrote to task capitalist Antonio Gracias successful March 2022. “Free code matters astir erstwhile it is idiosyncratic you hatred spouting what you deliberation is bullshit.”

On the different hand, Musk stated successful a March tweet that helium opposed restrictions connected escaped code that spell “far beyond the law” — successful different words, contented moderation should instrumentality to the missive of each country’s regulation. In an open missive to Twitter advertisers past week, Musk reiterated that point, adding that the level volition not go a “free-for-all hellscape” and that helium aims to marque Twitter “warm and welcoming to all” — too simply being lawful. 

Yet Musk’s predominant societal media escapades, ranging from the arch to the outrageous, mightiness springiness regulators pause.

Just days ago, Musk tweeted retired a nexus to a conspiracy-theory website, suggesting that the October 28 battle of Paul Pelosi, hubby of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, was carried retired by a antheral prostitute. On Sunday, erstwhile the New York Times reported connected Musk’s tweet, the magnate implied that the U.S. paper was “false news.”

European compliance

Going forward, scrutiny volition displacement from Musk’s Twitter antics to the platform’s revamped content-moderation argumentation — and however it volition unrecorded up to the bloc’s rules, which volition commencement to rotation retired gradually successful the adjacent fewer months. 

EU executives and lawmakers progressive were speedy to marque wide that immoderate Musk’s attack to contented moderation is, it volition person to adhere to Europe’s rules. 

“In Europe, the vertebrate volition alert by our European rules,” EU manufacture main Thierry Breton tweeted — referring to a clip from an earlier gathering with Musk, successful which the concern tycoon said the EU’s plans were “exactly aligned with my thinking.” The gathering happened successful May erstwhile the DSA was inactive acold from completion and Musk’s plans to bargain Twitter were already known but were astir to tally into trouble. 

Musk reached retired to Breton precocious past week to erstwhile again guarantee Brussels helium volition comply with the DSA, an EU authoritative confirmed to POLITICO connected Monday, aft a anterior Reuters report. A caller gathering betwixt the 2 could instrumentality spot successful the coming weeks.

Lawmakers progressive echoed Breton’s enactment implicit the weekend, good alert that the law, aft its work successful the bloc’s Official Journal connected Thursday, present faces a important adjacent phase: implementing the rules and enforcing them. 

Green MEP Kim van Sparrentak took purpose astatine Musk’s committedness to advertisers to amusement users “highly applicable ads” — referring to a proviso successful the DSA that rules retired targeting users with ads based connected definite delicate data. 

“Musk says he’s buying Twitter retired of charity, but astatine the aforesaid time, helium wants to support offering hyper-personalized ads. Fuzz stays portion of the concern model,” she tweeted — adding that nether the DSA, targeting ads based connected information similar religion oregon intersexual penchant is nary longer allowed.

Content council

Besides restrictions connected targeted advertising, the DSA gives nationalist authorities the quality to bid platforms to instrumentality down what is amerciable nether their circumstantial nationalist laws, portion besides giving users the accidental to emblem contented they fishy of being amerciable — which platforms volition person to review. 

Musk’s caller “content moderation council” — which volition person “widely divers viewpoints,” he said — volition person to instrumentality each of this into consideration. Twitter’s content-moderation argumentation besides faces immoderate EU deadlines: By February, it needs to disclose the fig of its users. Based connected the size of its EU idiosyncratic base, it volition person to comply with the rules by either summertime 2023 oregon February 2024.

But NGOs are already crying foul acold up of those deadlines, based connected the archetypal media reports of Musk’s Twitter reign, putting unit connected the effectual eventual implementation of the DSA. 

In a letter sent to the presidents of the European Commission, Council and Parliament, 12 NGOs asked for “an urgent information and regulatory review” of Musk’s Twitter takeover — citing the interaction connected “online standards and safeguards” arsenic 1 of the reasons to bash so. 

“The announcement of large unit cuts, the lifting of relationship bans and the rejection of contented moderation is straight contrary to the missive and tone of caller EU authorities adopted earlier this twelvemonth that seeks to marque large tech companies instrumentality greater work for hatred code and disinformation connected their platforms,” the NGOs wrote.