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August 13, 2024 - 7:00am
The European Commission threatened to take action against Elon Musk over his upcoming interview with Donald Trump, slated to air on X Monday evening.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton warned Musk in a public letter that the Commission is closely monitoring the situation, and that any dissemination of speech which could “incite violence, hate and racism” could be used in the already-ongoing EU case against Musk. Breton said the Commission may use “interim measures” to “protect EU citizens from serious harm” should the broadcast violate the EU’s Digital Services Act — strongly suggesting the interview could be pulled from the internet in the EU.
The EU Commission charged Musk in July for DSA violations involving alleged disinformation and illegal hate speech, threatening millions of dollars in fines.
“We are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political — or societal —events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections,” the Monday letter read.
The commissioner specifically referenced unrest in the UK following the Southport killings and subsequent riots. UK authorities have blamed social media misinformation for stoking anti-Muslim rhetoric and riots, with particular attention paid to Elon Musk’s X.
Musk, meanwhile, has been sharply critical of the UK online recently, skewering its social media policies as censorious and accusing the country of running a two-tiered justice system which favours Muslims and immigrants. Musk has said that “civil war is inevitable” and compared the UK to the Soviet Union. Keir Starmer himself has engaged in the feud, saying there’s “no justification” for the X owner’s comments.
“This notably means ensuring, on one hand, that freedom of expression and of information, including media freedom and pluralism, are effectively protected and, on the other hand, that all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content,” the letter read.
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SubscribeProtecting EU citizens from political opinions!
It’s hard to believe that we are actually here, but war are!
Is ‘war’ a Freudian slip here?
Whenever I have second thoughts about leaving the EU I am always thankfully reminded of what a disgusting organisation it really is.
Holy crap. Absolutely dystopian.
Dystopia with a large dollop of fascism. Stir slowly for the European brew.
Letting people watch Trump speak and fall over his words a bit in a quite odd and rambling conversation – was it so bad?
These threats from the EU come off a bit like blaming Putin for everything – you give the object of your threats far more power and credibility than they deserve. And make yourself look stupid and controlling into the bargain.
But this is the EU: never trust people to do their own thing when you can produce a raft of regulation to smother freedom and initative.
Yes, EU is late Soviet Block.
No longer killing people by the millions like Stalin and Mao, but cancelling their jobs and careers.
Vile, lefty, woke scum.
Wait a minute… the EU are threatening to ban an interview with an ex-President of the USA, and potentially the next Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces that are still deployed on the European mainland to help protect them from aggression from the east?
Are they insane??
If they wanted to put the security of EU citizens at risk, they could do nothing better than to go ahead as planned. And, which of those citizens is so dumb as to not be able to find whatever Trump content they wish?
Are they insane??
No. They know that the deep state won’t allow Trump to become President
Nothing to do with your deep state fantasies, gramps. The American people don’t want that bloated oaf anywhere near the white house. That’s why he lost by 8 million votes last time around!
This is the part where Hugh really loses it and starts spouting off about stolen elections. I can read these people like a book!
“Last time around” means nothing. That’s almost four years ago. Look what’s happened in that time frame.
Don’t feed the troll….
How would you know? You’ve never read a book.
Mate, I’m new here so am unsure if there is any reason why you should address a fellow Unherd subscriber as “gramps”. Just don’t do it again.
Do have a look at this video of Hillary Clinton saying that the 2016 election was stolen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYkbLu_hUQI&t=18s. And then shut up, dear far-left Champagne S.
Cept the election WAS stolen
That sounds like the sort of excuse I would expect to hear from a MAGA fan who is beginning to realise that Kamala, unlike Sleepy Joe might just win.
We had more than enough from Trump on the subject of stolen elections in 2020. That way madness lies and possibly even civil war.
Yes, you might be right.
However, if there is civil war, who is going to win?
Useless woke, lefty parasites or the well tooled up other side?
Last time it happened, slave owners lost.
Now slave owners are big corporation and Democratic Party.
I wouldn’t put it past the EU Commission to intentionally generate a situation where the US “cannot be trusted to defend Europe.” This would provide a perfect justification for them to accelerate the formation of the EU Army that they are openly seeking to set up. I.e create a crisis – then don’t waste it.
Good point.
The EU Commission have already accused Musk of being unable to operate his online forum after a suspected “distributed denial of service” attack caused glitches in the interview channel (but not the mainstream X service).
A coincidence? I doubt it.
Crikey
Good riddance. Honestly, the EU should form its own army. Then they can actually defend themselves.
Come on, it would be end of EU.
Countries directly threatened by Russia like Poland, Baltic States, Finland and Sweden would side with USA.
None of them would trust Germany and France (even uk) to defend them.
They well remember Munich and what happened to Ukraine after Budapest memorandum.
Yes, completely outrageous.
Unelected EU officials are telling European people what they can watch.
Soviet Union bis.
I really wish the Nouveau Apparatchiks would quit it, so I don’t have to defend people I don’t even like quite so often.
Seriously – stop freaking out about what Elon Musk says so we can focus on mocking the truly cringe things he does, like suing people for not buying a product they don’t want (reminiscent of when he got upset that the Thai rescue team didn’t want his submarine).
I’d love to enjoy when he gets frustrated that people don’t embrace his solutions, in peace!
Ditto with Trump. I strongly feel his moment has passed – stop making him relevant.
(Starlink’s cool, though – let’s all focus more on what works and less on utter nonsense ;).
Sorry, the days when you could sit on the fence like that are over.
When you pick a side you abandon your capacity for free and critical thought and simply agree with anyone you see as “on your team”.
Do the rules follow an Intersectional Hierarchy Framework or is the phrase “White Supremacy” permitted under these rules?
Oh please.
We’ve been drenched daily with news on how Joe Biden was totally fine, absolutely in form and able to go through a second term in office, followed by a spectacular reverse ferret and the installation of Kamala Harris who is being fêted and shielded by the liberal media, her previous record (or lack thereof) memory-holed and not making her answer any questions about what she wants to do as president.
I won’t even start on the amount of trash, just blatant lies I’ve read in the European media about Brexit in the last 8 years.
In the past week, I’ve been told by Austrian media that I’m not just “far right” but “extreme right” for thinking that 2-tier policing in the UK exists. And there was me, thinking I was a small c conservative…
It’s just so pathetic. I thoroughly resent not being trusted with information to make up my own mind about stuff and feel nauseous at the sheer volume of msm junk that gets pushed in my face trying to tell me that X is Y and black is white, and if I don’t believe it then I’m far right/part of the problem/I’ve been brainwashed by Farage.
This all seems aimed at keeping the far right out, but tbh I’m starting to think I’ll vote for the far right because I am so sick of this [insert expletive of choice]. If you’re going to call me far right, I might as well go for it, mightn’t I?
You are not trusted with the information to make up your own mind because you are not entitled to it. Information belongs to the State.
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
— George Orwell, 1984
It’s pretty bad when the Austrians are calling you far right ! Still, it takes one to know one as they say and if there are any anywhere, Austria might be a good place to start looking as I’m led to believe they do this stuff more seriously (your good self excepted of course).
Extreme right, if you please! Well, it was Der Standard which in terms of journalistic tosh is some way below the Guardian. It’s basically toilet paper with words on it. The British correspondent, Sebastian Borger, often writes such nonsense, I start to wonder whether he’s ever even been to Britain.
Still – I didn’t know whether to be insulted or amused. The most extreme thing I’ve done in my life so far is to run a marathon, so to now be thought of an some kind of radical fringe political element…well, it’s remarkable.
My comment definitely wasn’t intended as an insult (but perhaps not worded very well). Not convinced there’s anyone geuninely “far right” – by any sensible definition – making comments here. More an ironic commentary on the Austrians.
We know the regime media is lying, the regime media knows we know they are lying, and half the world or more is not the least bit concerned.
Reminds me of “we pretend to work, they pretend to pay us.”
Yes, embrace it. I’ve simply been announcing that I’m “far right” for some time now, and then proceed to argue for sane, what-used-to-be-mildly-conservative-middle-of-the-road policies. The more people realize that “far right” is, in most cases, media-speak for “sane”, the better.
“If you’re going to call me far right, I might as well go for it, mightn’t I?”
No. Unless
1. your previous convictions are lightly held and
2. you want to vindicate your critics and
3. create a manichean political debate where only two sides exist.
“I thoroughly resent not being trusted with information to make up my own mind about stuff” – Where exactly do you expect to get this information from if not the media that you are decrying?
As for Kamala Harris, what else would you expect from the liberal media. The right wing media (Telegraph, Times, Sun, Mail, Express) gave the Conservatives unbridled support for the best part of 15 years until they finally realised they were backing a sinking ship. Now they don’t know which way to turn apart from against Labour but fortunately to date still realise that if Farage / Reform is the answer, then it was a very stupid question.
The…fascist…left….Musk gets it.
It is sad to see EU becoming more and more totalitarian.
We were told that the EU was necessary to stop European nations from going to war with one another. They didn’t reckon on civil war within the EU though, which, at this rate, is not impossible. How ironic!
Have you just landed from Mars?
EU was always totalitarian but maybe people did not pay attention.
The design was abvious from Mastricht Treaty and impossible to ignore, unless you loved the journey, after Lisbon Treaty when rejection of it was ignored by EU.
Haven’t these EU clowns got real problems to solve ?
And just who do they think they are to decide what EU ctiizens should or should not read and view and what is in their best interests ? Have they forgotten that well within living memory many of these same citizens lived under opperssive regimes with secret police, children denouncing parents, citizens spying on each orther and without free speech ?
You need to read the writings of the founders of the EU and their successors such as Jose Barroso and JC Juncker. The EU was always designed to be the Fourth Reich. It’s extraordinary that these people tell us exactly what their intentions are yet we still convince ourselves that they are not a threat to us.
They know but they don’t care.
I always found it quite hilarious how assorted Nazis (Germany and Austria), Fascists (Italy, Spain, Portugal), Vichy collaborators and Scandinavian Quslings (excluding Finland) were telling Britain how to be democratic.
Just wondering: might there possibly be quite hateful, even threatening, even downright ominous postings on social media directed toward, uh, you know, the sort of people whose families have lived in the UK since the Middle Ages? On the off chance that such postings exist, who exactly might those purveyors be and are they being silenced as well? Or is it just dandy for some people to be violent haters that have set off an impressive number of high-explosives killing innocent civilians for decades with no subtlety about their intolerance of opposing viewpoints, religions, or cultures?
You might say that. I couldn’t possibly comment.
I suppose we might soon be reminiscing about the good old days when one could express themselves in comments sections such as this one.
If any further proof were needed that we are already in a civil war, Tulsi Gabbard – Tulsi Gabbard FFS! – has just been put on a terror watchlist by the Biden administration.
She’s a nutcase. What’s supposed to be the problem with her being added to the watchlist?
Even by your lamentably poor standard that’s an exceptionally dumb comment.
But is she a terrorist nutcase?
If you want to know if your name is on the list, search ‘Biden’ ‘terror’ ‘watchlist’.
By the time you get the search results, your name will be added to the list.
She did embarrass Kamala in the primaries four years ago. Something likely to be classed as sedition in the not too distant future.
So what is the serious harm that EU citizens are likely to suffer from hearing an interview with a US Presidential candidate who is a former President? If the candidate intends to announce plans for a “special military operation” as the phase goes in EU territory is it not a good thing the population hears this? It is hard to understand from the obscure phasing of the letter what they are driving at?
Why is reference made to the UK that is not part of the EU? Musk has made allegations of two tier policing in the UK but how does that fall outside the parameters of fair political comment? Is it not easy for the UK government to refute this suggestion by pointing out that the approach to unrest in Harehills in Leeds and Sunderland was exactly the same and if not explaining the grounds for the difference and why it should not be regarded as two tier. No need for such a conversation to be hidden from the rest of us or generate hate surely?
Interesting fact. Citizens of the authoritarian dictatorship that was East Germany were prohibited from sharing transcripts of and watching West German political debates. For the safety and security of the East German people, naturally.
If it walks like duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck…
The far right freak out gathers pace!
Imagine having these two clowns as your heroes?!?!
Imagine believing in hero’s.
If Musk and Trump disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn’t make a jot of difference to my life. You, however, need these people to validate your own rather pointless existence.
Who are your heroes?
I guess Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot?
1984 is upon us … only it won’t work as that’s what a VPN is for. Not a good look EU. Thank you Elon.
Hard to believe they are embracing the stasi with such vim. Must be scary living across the pond under the jackboot.
I think we can safely ignore the opinions of anyone who worships a buffoon who thinks that literal Nazis are “very good people”!
Personally I think everyone should be forced to watch the billionaire lickspittle humiliate himself in front of the fat moron.
Only a moron could support either one after that.
Oh, hi Unherd readers!
Well yes, you would think forcing someone to watch something is a good idea.
The confidence of the ‘Hi Unherd readers!’ as though you have said something of substance that will really cut to the quick is a bit depressing. I hope you’re alright.
What’s that clown Thierry Breton doing on Twitter if he hates it so much then?
It’s getting hard to be hopeful and optimistic. The Overton window is shifting rapidly. The technocrats now feel emboldened to threaten Musk for simply interviewing a presidential candidate. Who they really want is you, me and everyone else. It’s a warning. If we can go after Musk, we can go after you too.
Could that letter be interpreted as election interference?
Having said that it’s always a bit of gas reading the Unherd commentariat going into high dudgeon whenever there’s a chance to pounce on something EU related.
Gonna listen to that interview with interest. I have no flowerpower or altrigt opinion on this. My stance is that moving large amounts of people to another place in world is a massive thing to do. It will almost inevitably cause problems at the destination for the move, problems that can or cannot be handled with actions of integration. There might be or not be good reasons for people to move out of their home place. It just a very, very big question. Probably as big in the US as in Europe.
The EU bureaucrats are going all in to try and remain in control. They may win a few rounds but it is over and just a matter of time. It may take a while longer but the “people” are paying attention and will start taking action, real action. It is tough to unseat bureaucrats entrenched as much as these clowns, but it will and has to happen. Their only purpose is to stay in power and nothing else matters. Bring it on!
content that may incite violence, hate and racism
The operative word is “may.” Big Brother will decide what we, mere dopes, are capable of understanding and which objectively true, observed, real things must be suppressed because, in Big Brother’s sole judgment, they “may” incite some dope somewhere to an evil generalization.
I just don’t get it. Incitement of violence (either online or in person) is a criminal offence in the UK. I am assuming it’s the same in the EU – although I may be wrong. If so, please correct me.
So, if Trump and/or Musk incite violence during a social media podcast what should be done? Nothing? Why? Because they’re rich and powerful? Because Trump purports to be a politician or a savior? I’m not sure which.
I think Musk is a thoroughly nasty piece of work, with a shoulder chip as big as his ego.
Just like Trump, Musk viscerally hates all those who mock him. For a highly intelligent man, which he is supposed to be, he sure is childish at times. At least Trump has the excuse of a low IQ to fall back on.