European Commission Threatens Elon Musk With Potential Legal Action Ahead Of Interview With Donald Trump

On Monday, the European Commission sent a personal letter to X owner Elon Musk ahead of his upcoming interview with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, demanding that the billionaire comply with the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) to ensure that the interview doesn't lead to the spread of "harmful content." The highly anticipated interview will go live at 8 PM EST from President Trump's account.

The letter authored by European Commissioner Thierry Breton demands that Musk, who is already in various legal squabbles with the EU, follow the guidelines outlined in the DSA. "As the individual entity ultimately controlling a platform with over 300 million users worldwide, of which one third in the EU, that has been designated as a Very Large Online Platform, you have the legal obligation to ensure X's compliance with EU law and in particular the DSA in the EU," the letter reads. "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 into place regarding the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including live streaming, which, if unaddressed, might increase the risk profile of X and generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security."

The EU commisioner argued that Musk must take measures to inform the EU authorities of the precautions he's taking to ensure that nothing "illegal" under EU law was taking place and ensuring that there is a process in place to deal with notices from users who deem certain content to be illegal.

"As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU. Therefore, 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," Breton writes.

The commissioner then explains that any violations of EU law could impact current proceedings against X surrounding the amplification of "terrorist content" that has allegedly motivated violence, as seen in the recent riots in the United Kingdom.

In response to the letter, X CEO Linda Yaccarino condemned Breton for overextending EU law into American affairs. "This is an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US," she wrote. "It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions."

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