MOSCOW, October 19 American entrepreneur, owner of the social network X Elon Musk discussed the possibility of blocking it in Europe due to the new law on digital services, Business Insider reports, citing a source.
“Musk is increasingly frustrated by the need to comply with the digital services law… The billionaire… has discussed the possibility of simply making the apps unavailable in the region or blocking users in the European Union from accessing it,” the publication reports, citing a person close to the company.
The publication writes, citing a source, that although Musk met “at least twice” in 2023 with European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton to discuss what X needed to do to comply with the digital services law, the entrepreneur “lost patience.”
Politico previously reported that the European Union had launched an investigation into social network X following allegations that it was spreading disinformation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The publication noted that X was sent an official request demanding information about how the social network processes problematic content, which is a preliminary step to launching an official investigation.
In October, Breton sent a letter to Musk saying that the social network X allegedly spreads “illegal content and disinformation” regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The letter demanded that Musk respond and contact “appropriate law enforcement authorities” within 24 hours. Musk responded in the comments to the European Commissioner's letter on the social network X and suggested listing the violations that Breton refers to «so that the public can see them.» He later wrote that the European Union had not yet provided any evidence that X was spreading disinformation about the conflict.
In August of this year, a new law on digital services (Digital Services Act) came into force in the European Union, which is aimed at tightening control on the Internet. In case of non-compliance with the law, the largest digital players face fines of up to 6% of the company's global turnover. In case of repeated violation, the company's activities may be temporarily banned in the EU.