European politician Věra Jourová warned Elon Musk from the World Economic Forum in Davos that Twitter would have to reckon with “sanctions” if it did not switch off some forms of speech.
Jourová, the European Commission’s vice-president for values and transparency, told Euronews Next that Twitter may face penalties if it facilitates freedom of expression in breach of European Union rules. “The days of the Wild West are over,” she said.
“We will have the Digital Services Act [DSA]. We will have the code of conduct as part of this legislation,” said Jourová. “So after Mr. Musk took over Twitter with his ‘free speech absolutism’, we are also the protectors of free speech. But at the same time, we cannot accept, for example, illegal content on the Internet and so on. So our message was clear: we have rules that have to be followed, otherwise there will be sanctions.”
Věra Jourová, European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, talks about Musk’s leadership on Twitter. (Screenshot by Euronews Next)
ELITE IN DAVOS STRATEGIZE HOW TO FIGHT ‘RIGHT-WING’ GROUPS: ‘HIT BACK’
New European laws could penalize tech companies if they allow freedom of expression unhindered.
“A series of new laws, including the DSA and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), were signed by the EU Parliament in October 2022 and are expected to come into force later this year,” Euronews reported. “Under the new legal framework, which aims to protect the rights of online users and remove illegal content or disinformation, platforms could face a fine of up to 6% of their annual turnover if found by EU regulators to be violating violate the regulations.”
Jourová also said that in recent years, European politicians and big tech companies have had gentlemen’s agreements and other negotiating options alongside legislation.
Twitter remains one of the most critical platforms online for politicians and journalists around the world, and its takeover by Musk in the name of freedom of expression has outraged many of them. (Portal/Robert Galbraith)
John Kerry ridiculed speech on WEF’s ‘most extraterrestrial plan’ to save the planet: ‘Liberal delusions’
We had some ‘gentlemen’s agreements’, like the code of conduct against hate speech, which was very important in 2016 when we saw an extreme increase in hate online directed at specific individuals or groups of citizens,” she said, according to Euronews. That’s why I always like to combine decent communication and discussion and test how far they can go within some kind of social responsibility.”
Jourová previously made headlines on Tuesday when she hinted that America will soon have its own hate speech laws.
“What qualifies as hate speech, illegal hate speech that you’re about to have in the US as well,” she told World Economic Forum panellist Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. “I think we have a good reason for that. We have that in criminal law, we need the platforms to just work with the language and spot cases like that.”
Elon Musk acquired Twitter after Christian satirical website The Babylon Bee was booted for making a joke mocking transgender politics. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, file)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Musk’s leadership of Twitter was a notable departure from restrictive language trends both on Twitter itself and in Big Tech in general. In late December, Musk proclaimed, “The new Twitter policy is to follow the science, which necessarily includes reasoned questioning of the science.”
Alexander Hall is Associate Editor at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].