Elon Musk has accused the European Commission of trying to make a secret deal with X, formerly known as Twitter, to censor content without public awareness. Musk claimed the EU promised to withhold fines if X complied with the censorship discreetly. In a tweet, Musk stated, “The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us. The other platforms accepted that deal.”
This allegation comes after the European Commission charged X with violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice president of the European Commission, accused X of failing to meet key transparency standards, misleading users, and not providing necessary advertisement data. The DSA, which became effective in February, mandates social media platforms to remove harmful content and misinformation, with potential fines of up to 6% of global revenue for non-compliance.
One of the main issues is X’s blue checkmark system. Originally used to verify public figures, the blue checkmark now indicates paid subscribers under Musk’s management, which the EU argues misleads users regarding account authenticity. Furthermore, X was found to be non-compliant with the DSA’s requirement to offer accessible and reliable information about advertisements.
Musk rejected the EU’s claims and indicated his intention to take the matter to court. He expressed a desire for a “very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth,” emphasizing the importance of transparency and fair regulatory practices.
The clash between Musk’s leadership of X and European regulatory authorities highlights the broader debate on social media regulation, the balance between free speech and oversight, and the challenges of enforcing digital governance.
