Getty Image / Apu Gomes / iStock / Leonidas Santana
A bad news week for the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, started with news that his purchase of Twitter (now X) is being called the worst financial deal since the 2008 financial crisis and it got worse when a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) made it crystal clear that Elon Musk’s X risks being dismantled and banned in Europe if it doesn’t take the censoring of hate speech seriously.
Earlier this month I read Breaking Twitter: Elon Musk and the Most Controversial Corporate Takeover in History by Ben Mezrich which, all things considered, might be a bit hyperbolic of a title but then again after reading that book and seeing all of the events of Musks Twitter acquisition laid out in order (after living through it) the Twitter acquisition and rebrand to X might truly be the most chaotic takeover in corporate history.
One of the major takeaways from that book is how the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has a very deep need to be liked and adored by his legions of fans. Another takeaway is he absolutely does not respond to threats or ultimatums as Elon himself almost always holds the power in any negotiation, so this latest news out of Europe likely won’t sit well with Musk.
Sandro Gozi is a senior EU representative for Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble coalition and has threatened that if Elon Musk doesn’t implement Digital Services Act (DSA) into X, aka ‘hate speech controls’, Musk’s X will face massive fines and will be at risk of being dismantled and banned entirely in the European Union.
Sandro Gozi told La Repubblica that X must “respect the DSA directive on disinformation and incitement to hatred” or face prohibition. If Elon Musk does not comply with European rules on digital services, the EU Commission will ask continental operators to block X or, in the most extreme case, will impose the total dismantling of the platform in the territory of the Union.”
Elon Musk’s X Could Face Ban In Europe Over Hate Speech
Gozi went on to say “online violence often leads to offline violence” and added “the extreme right hides its violence behind freedom of expression. Platforms must moderate hateful content.”
This isn’t specific to X at all. Every social media platform (Meta, LinkedIn, etc) must all implement hate speech controls in Europe or will be at risk of being banned by the European Union. The fundamental difference with X, however, is (1) Elon Musk does NOT respond well to threats, (2) X is a haven for unfettered hate speech since Elon Musk took over, and (3) Musk claims to be a ‘free speech absolutist’ which would be in opposition to the new European Union policies though his ‘free speech absolutist’ stance has been demonstrably false after he banned the ‘Elon Musk Jets’ account and a handful of journalists who later reported on him banning that account.
Yes, a crazy person stalked a car with his son in it by following the Elon Musk Jets account. If I was in his shoes I would’ve done the same. But I don’t claim to be a free speech absolutist like Elon Musk and claim the success of X relies on that while simultaneously showing the rules don’t apply when they impact me personally (like Musk did).
If I was a betting man, I would wager that the wealthiest man in the world, with a net worth of $244 billion according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, will either outright ignore European Member of Parliament Sandro Gozi’s threat or he will push back directly and dare the EU to do something about it while finding a way to enforce his will through other channels. Elon is not accustomed to not getting his way.