With Elon Musk about to interview Donald Trump, a man who's entire political life has been spreading hate speech and inciting political violence, including his failed coup d'état in 2021, the EU is taking the proactive steps to warn Musk that broadcasting hate speech will have consequences.
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-warns-elon-musk-hate-speech-donald-trump-interview-breton-x/The European Union's digital enforcer wrote an open letter to tech mogul Elon Musk on Monday ahead of a planned interview with former United States President Donald Trump to remind him of the EU’s rules on promoting hate speech.
Trump announced last week that he is sitting down with Musk for a “major interview,” which will be livestreamed on Twitter.
Europe's Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton reminded the world's richest man of his legal obligation to stop the "amplification of harmful content."
The EU in July charged Twitter, which Musk bought in 2022, for failing to respect its social media laws. The platform faces multimillion euro fines.
“As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU,” Breton said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Breton added that “any negative effect of illegal content” could lead the EU to take further action against Twitter, using "our full toolbox, including by adopting interim measures, should it be warranted to protect EU citizens from harm."
Trump was suspended from Twitter, in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol "due to the risk of further incitement of violence," the company said. Following Musk’s takeover of Twitter, he reinstated Trump’s account.
Trump's reinstated account remained largely inactive until Monday, when it unexpectedly began posting campaign adverts, denigrating Vice President Kamala Harris and reposting promotional material for the interview with Musk.
