EU Prepares to Fine Elon Musk’s X Up to $1 Billion
European Union regulators are preparing to fine Elon Musk’s X up to $1 billion for breaking its notorious Digital Services Act in a move likely to ratchet up tensions with the United States, according to the New York Times.
The penalties are set to include a fine and demands for product changes, said [four people with knowledge of the plans], who declined to be identified discussing an ongoing investigation. These are expected to be announced this summer and would be the first issued under a new EU law intended to force social media companies to police their services, they said.
European authorities have been weighing how large a fine to issue X as they consider the risks of further antagonising Mr Trump amid wider trans-Atlantic disputes over trade, tariffs and the war in Ukraine. The fine could surpass $1 billion, one person said, as regulators seek to make an example of X to deter other companies from violating the law, the Digital Services Act.
EU officials said their investigation into X was progressing independently from tariff negotiations after Mr Trump announced major new levies this week. The investigation began in 2023, and regulators last year issued a preliminary ruling that X had violated the law.
The European Union and X could still reach a settlement if the company agrees to changes that satisfy regulators’ concerns, the officials said.
X also faces a second EU investigation that is broader and that could lead to further penalties. In that investigation, two people said, EU officials are building a case that X’s hands-off approach to policing user-generated content has made it a hub of illegal hate speech, disinformation and other material that is viewed as undercutting democracy across the 27-nation bloc.
Worth reading in full.
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I hope he tells them to get bent.
VPNs: Exist.
What a prospect. When the Great Firewall of China was set up, it was mocked and considered an abomination. Now the European (and British) techno overlords are setting up their own while the population gormlessly carries on.
Good point! For decades, I think, China has completely blocked Chinese citizens from accessing Youtube, for example.
X to proclaim First Amendment and direct EU Thought Regulators to report to Stasimuseum Berlin for Mandatory eLearning.
A good opportunity to offer direct connection to X via Musk’s Starlink service, cutting out the regulator for ever.
If that works, great idea, and don’t bet against Musk doing it
We should always be telling government and bureaucracy to get out of our lives. One of my sailing websites carried the story of Radio Caroline last week, reminding us that the Govt of the day tried to stop us listening to pop music! And it isn’t that many years since Govt was insisting that a Scotch egg was a substantial meal, and an airborne virus was only a threat when you stood up in a pub full of people, sitting down was fine…
I think I could do without government……..fix potholes, empty the bins, and STFU about everything else. Actually, scrub round that, we can privatise bin emptying – they already have around here, and it works well
My dil works for one of the big Waste Management companies who already sub-contract to local authorities to do just that. Her job was selling the service to them and she is quite scathing about their lack of professionalism in negotiating contract terms.
As Rupert Lowe said in The Great Repeal Act video,
“We need a government that will put us first,
protect our interests,
and get the hell out of our way!”
Brewgalowe on X: “The Great Repeal Act @RupertLowe10, @RobertJenrick, and @DrDStarkeyCBE explain how to restore Great Britain. https://t.co/3gWVq8VOB0” / X
Sadly that doesn’t work.
Starlink only works in countries when agreements are reached with the governments, following local regulations.
Unless of course Musk wants to go all pirate. But if that happens, we’re in a whole new world.
And if ‘agreements’ aren’t reached (or even sought) then what happens? Satellite talks direct to receiving unit, what can government do about it?
Interesting idea – goes against the idea of the internet generally being an open platform, vs the ‘walled garden’ concept… but interesting none the less
Why would the EU pick a fight with Musk?
Have they not noticed he is on good terms with Trump?
Did they not pick up on Vance’s message stating he (the USA) felt free speech was very important?
The EU seems to enjoy flaunting its anti-democratic credentials these days.
If they continue as they are, they will pick a fight on two fronts – never good!
One with Russia, (even though they haven’t got an Army), the other, a financial fight with the USA despite being in a perilously weak position. Madness.
Talking about democracy
“a hub of illegal hate speech, disinformation and other material that is viewed as undercutting democracy across the 27-nation bloc.”
Isn’t this “undercutting” democracy
Indeed.
Leftards have been screaming that Musk is Adolf etc etc.
The real fascists are the socialists and globalists. They can only win the argument by using force and coercion.
This is just another example of that endless pattern.
I trust X has a list of all accounts associated with EU institutions at every level of bureaucracy and their leaders… I’d like to see every one of them suspended the day the EU announce the ‘fine’.
Excellent, I hope that Elon has thought of this. One less way for them to weedle their way into X users minds.
It is staggering how petty, pathetic small minded and corrupt the EU commission is.
Nothing instils confidence like a completely arbitrary system of power in which “authorities” have a little discussion on how much to fine someone.
At this point they’re not even pretending to be anything but gangsters muscling people into submission.
I guess this is what euro techno-tyrants refer to when they talk about “European values”.
EU Flexes its Authoritarian Muscles
Nice social media you got there – it would be a shame if anything happened to it.
[sarcasm]
Whut? Blue Sky?
I don’t care about any of them they all look like ignorant pricks. Hardly worth spending mental energy on. And like ignorant pricks generally they won’t last very long. But they certainly know how to mess things up in their short tenure.
Undercutting democracy in the EU.. really?
Whose doing that in Romania and France? It isn’t X, for sure!
… and Germany
Where’s the link to the crowd fund?
I’ve got a better idea. Get rid of the EU after fining them trillions for being contemptuous despots!
The lunatics really are running the asylum
He needs a two word conversation with them, seven letters and three of them are f’s.