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X owner Elon Musk will have to comply with European Union law and clamp down illegal content on the social network if it wants to keep on doing “good business” in the region, the EU’s digital chief Věra Jourová said today.
“With Mr. Musk, the dialog doesn’t go well, very simply,” Jourová told reporters in the wake of an EU probe into how the platform shows graphic illegal content and disinformation linked to Hamas’ attack on Israel.
The tech mogul denied a report last week that he was considering pulling X out of Europe to avoid new requirements for digital platforms. X is used by over 101 million Europeans in the bloc. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the company must swiftly take down content and ensure the network limits disinformation and cyberviolence.
Musk does “good business in [the] European Union, but it will be his decision and if he decides to stay in as well, he will have to comply with the EU law,” Jourová said.
Since Hamas attacked Israel, EU officials have been scrutinizing how well X complies with DSA requirements to remove illegal content. X had until last week to explain to the institution’s enforcement team how it has been tackling terrorist propaganda and disinformation connected to the crisis.
“We are in contact with X, but due to the sensitive nature of the matter, we are unable to provide additional information at this stage,” said Johannes Bahrke, a Commission spokesperson, when asked if X had replied last week.
Jourová said she would keep her X account even though she felt “rather bad” because of the growing spread of “hatred, violence and crime.” She added that the Commission hadn’t changed its policy on social media use.
“There is no official discussion whether we will change the communication tool for the moment,” she said. “Twitter or X remains the platform we use.”
X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
