EU digital chief warns Elon Musk to comply with law ahead of Trump interview

Last month, EU tech regulators ruled that Musk’s X breached the Digital Services Act and deceived users through its use of blue checkmarks

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Published: 4:02am, 13 Aug 2024Updated: 4:30am, 13 Aug 2024

EU industry chief Thierry Breton told billionaire Elon Musk in a letter on Monday he must comply with EU law ahead of Musk’s interview with US presidential candidate Donald Trump on social media platform X.

The interview, scheduled for 8pm Eastern Time, will also be accessible to users in the European Union, Breton wrote, adding: “In this context, I am compelled to remind you of the due diligence obligations set out in the Digital Services Act (DSA).”

“DSA obligations apply without exceptions or discrimination to the moderation of the whole user community and content of X (including yourself as a user with over 190 million followers) which is accessible to EU users and should be fulfilled in line with the risk-based approach of the DSA, which requires greater due diligence in case of a foreseeable increase of the risk profile”, Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union, wrote in his letter.

The DSA law requires very large platforms to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security.

Last month, EU tech regulators ruled that X, formerly Twitter, breached the DSA and that it deceived users through its use of blue checkmarks.