Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul/Pool via REUTERS
One of the main reasons for Elon Musk to buy Twitter is to pursue freedom of speech in his heart. But it’s obviously not something that can be done simply by talking about it. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an exclusive interview with the Financial Times that the EU welcomes Elon Musk to Twitter, but the platform still has to comply with local content regulations before it will be banned.
Take, for example, the new Digital Services Act, which would require internet companies such as Twitter to publish specific plans to curb disinformation on their sites, and would also ban platforms targeting minors and people of specific race, political affiliation, religion and sexual orientation. Users push targeted advertisements. Tech companies also need to explain how their recommendation systems work, while also offering alternatives that aren’t based on user profiles and sharing data with researchers. Any companies that do not comply will face fines of up to 6% of their global turnover, and services will be banned in the EU if they refuse to change.
Musk has yet to respond to such warnings. Let’s wait and see how this big man who often does extraordinary things can balance the relationship between freedom of speech and regulation.
