After Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, EU officials have a message for the world’s richest man: obey the rules.
Over the weekend, the European Union gave a tentative green light to the Digital Services Act, which will force big tech companies to more aggressively monitor content on their platforms.
UGC platforms such as Twitter and Facebook must implement robust content moderation systems to ensure they can quickly remove illegal material such as hate speech, incitement to terrorism and child sexual abuse.
Musk is one of Twitter’s most popular users and has used it for everything from making announcements about Tesla and his other companies to posting memes and attacking his critics.
The eccentric tech billionaire has previously described himself as a “free speech absolutist” and says he wants to reform Twitter as a “digital marketplace” with fewer restrictions on what users can say.
This could have a huge impact on the way content is moderated on Twitter – a key concern for regulators trying to rein in digital giants for spreading hate speech and disinformation online.
As of this writing, it’s unclear exactly what Musk plans to do with Twitter. And the process until he buys the company will likely take several months, if not years.
However, officials in the US have raised concerns about the possibility that Musk could reinstate Donald Trump’s Twitter account. The former president was banned from the platform after his supporters rioted in the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021. For his part, Trump says he has no plans to return.
Cedric O, France’s digital minister, said that while there are “some interesting things” Musk wants to push on Twitter, the new EU digital services law will apply “regardless of the ideology of its owner”.
The DSA is scheduled to come into force as early as 2024. Businesses that break the rules risk fines of up to 6% of their annual global revenue — just over $300 million for a company like Twitter, based on 2021 sales figures.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, warned Musk that he must comply with the bloc’s new digital regulations.
“Be it cars or social media, every company operating in Europe must comply with our rules – regardless of their involvement,” Breton tweeted on Tuesday.
“Mr Musk knows that well. He knows the European regulations for the automotive industry and will quickly adapt to the Digital Services Act.”
Breton, former CEO of French IT consultancy Atos, is considered a key architect of the European Union’s digital reforms. Alongside the Digital Markets Act, which aims to curb the dominance of internet giants, the DSA is part of a bold plan by the bloc to regulate big tech.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Musk’s Twitter acquisition is “potentially the first major test for the DSA.” Brussels may look to use the Musk-Twitter deal to “test” its new enforcement tools, he told CNBC.
“The risks for the EU are that Musk has shown his willingness to fight back and fight the government,” Tobias added, citing Musk’s battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission over a now-infamous tweet, in which he said, he would take Tesla private for $420 in stock.
A push for looser scrutiny of online content could also put Musk on a collision course with the UK, where policymakers want to introduce their own measures to combat harmful content.
Britain’s Online Safety Act would require social media services to crack down on both illegal posts and “legal but harmful” material, a vague definition that has been criticized by some in the tech industry over concerns it is stifling freedom of expression could .
A UK government spokesman was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
The stakes for platforms like Twitter would be even higher under the Online Safety Bill, which faces corporate executives with jail time and fines of up to 10% of annual global revenue for serious violations.
The legislation, which has yet to be approved by UK lawmakers, is expected to come into force later this year.