Elon Musk’s Twitter Must Abide by EU Rules to Continue Operating in Europe
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk acquired Twitter on Friday. Photo by Mike Blake | Reuters
This Friday, multi-billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk closed his $44 billion Twitter deal, prompting EU official Thierry Breton to warn Musk that Twitter must abide by EU standards regardless of Musk's ambitions for the platform. Though Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” seeks to limit moderation on Twitter, he has demonstrated support for operating Twitter in close alignment with local laws.
Elon Musk tweeted, “The bird is freed” after closing his landmark deal. Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for the internal market, replied, “In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules.” The bird refers to Twitter’s logo of a blue bird.
In April, European lawmakers agreed to the Digital Services Act, which requires social media platforms to promptly flag illegal content, safeguard users and their data, and increase transparency. The EU expects Twitter’s content moderation specifically to meet their standards. This month, the Digital Services Act became law and ordered fines for violating rules of up to 6% of a platform’s global revenue.
The EU tends to strictly police major tech platforms. Twitter faced a €450,000 fine in 2020 for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a sweeping piece of legislation affecting any platform’s storage or processing of European users' personal data. Amazon, Meta, Whatsapp, and Google also faced multi-million dollar fines for violating the GDPR.
Research from New York University reveals that Twitter employs only 1,500 people to monitor and moderate content, a far lower figure than Meta’s estimated 15,000 content moderators and Google’s 10,000. Many experts already warn that 1,500 is too few people to effectively moderate content on a platform as large as Twitter. Considering Musk’s supposed plans to cut Twitter’s staff by 75%, this number may fall even more in the coming weeks, which will pose challenges for adhering to the EU’s content moderation standards.
Musk’s plans for Twitter align with EU lawmakers in some respects. Musk and Breton were against lifetime Twitter bans on users following Donald Trump’s absolute ban on Twitter and Meta after the January 6th insurrection. Musk also plans to closely monitor illegal content, reassuring advertisers that the platform “Cannot become a free-for-all hellscape.” In May, Musk spoke with Breton and said the Digital Services Act “Exactly aligned with my thinking.” Musk also plans to establish a content moderation council to deliberate on all significant content decisions or account reinstatements.
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton warned Musk that Twitter must follow EU Rules. Photo: Johanna Geron | Reuters
Breton, a chief architect for most of the EU’s landmark digital legislation, clearly stated that the EU would closely watch Musk’s content moderation efforts for Twitter within the EU. Breton commented in April, after Musk announced his plans to buy Twitter, that he expects the Tesla CEO to adapt to the Digital Services Act just as he adapted to European automotive laws.
Repeat violations of the Digital Services Act can result in permanent bans of a platform within the EU. Some of Elon Musk’s stances on free speech concern EU lawmakers, namely his explicit stance against the EU’s banning of Russian media like RT and Sputnik that espouses misinformation. Musk’s content moderation council will have to be up to the EU’s standards to ensure Twitter can continue operating within its borders, regardless of his personal ambitions for the platform.