Elon Musk has alleged that the European Commission offered his social media platform X an “illegal secret deal,” threatening fines unless it agreed to quietly censor users – claims which the Commission has denied.
On Friday, Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, claimed that X “doesn’t comply with the DSA (Digital Services Act) in key transparency areas.”
“It misleads users, fails to provide adequate ad repository, and blocks access to data for researchers. It’s the first time we issue preliminary findings under the Digital Services Act,” she said.
Meanwhile, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, also levelled accusations at X in a separate post.
“Back in the day, #BlueChecks used to mean trustworthy sources of information,” he said.
“Now with X, our preliminary view is that they deceive users and infringe #DSA. X has now the right of defence but if our view is confirmed, we will impose fines & require significant changes.”
Musk hit back at these assertions on his social media site X with some accusations of his own, claiming that the European Commission had threatened his platform with fines unless it secretly censored users.
“The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us,” he said.
“The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not.”
The European Commission offered 𝕏 an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2024
The other platforms accepted that deal.
𝕏 did not. https://t.co/4lKsaRsYoA
Replying to Breton, Musk added: “We look forward to a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth.”
We look forward to a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth https://t.co/nKBGEPxeEa
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2024
Breton denied the accusation outright, saying in response, “Be our guest, Elon Musk. There has never been — and will never be — any ‘secret deal’.” He added “…We did it in line with established regulatory procedures. [It’s] up to you to decide whether to offer commitments or not. That is how rule of law procedures work. See you (in court or not).”
Be our guest @elonmusk ⚖️🇪🇺
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) July 12, 2024
There has never been — and will never be — any “secret deal”. With anyone.
The DSA provides X (and any large platform) with the possibility to offer commitments to settle a case.
To be extra clear: it’s *YOUR* team who asked the Commission to… https://t.co/8Wo7DXdap0
The DSA – a regulation aimed at curbing Big Tech’s control over online content – requires platforms to remove misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech, or face penalties. The law also mandates each EU member state to appoint a Digital Services Coordinator to oversee compliance. In Ireland, this role is filled by Coimisiún na Meán, which has been regulating digital platforms since February of this year.
While some European officials have lauded the DSA as a tool to hold Big Tech accountable for harmful or illegal content, critics warn it could lead to excessive censorship by European states.
The confrontation between Musk’s X and the European Commission underscores the ongoing conflict between regulatory authorities and tech giants over the governance and regulation of online content.