The European Union (EU) suffered a major setback this week in its drive to recreate cyberspace in its own image. In a surprising turnaround, the EU appears to have caved into threats by X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk to reveal “secret deals” offered by the EU to himself and other US-based global social network platforms.
Until Monday, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton appeared to be preparing for a legal cage fight with Musk, a man who is tipped to become the world’s first trillionaire, over the issue of free speech and Musk’s refusal to censor political debate on X in line with Brussels’ wishes. Breton’s shock resignation yesterday is now being seen by many as evidence of the truth behind Musk’s allegations.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino immediately referred to the resignation of European Union commissioner Thierry Breton as “a good day for free speech.”
In July, the EU accused Musk’s platform, X, of deceptive practices that violated the EU’s Digital Services Act. In response, Musk warned, “We look forward to a very public battle in court.”
“Misinformation” is anything the EU says it is
The act, which came into force in July, states that: “Its main goal is to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation.” But the EU maintains that there can be no debate concerning the act’s definitions of “harmful” and “disinformation,” as it is up to the EU’s unelected officials to decide what constitutes “harmful” content and that “misinformation” is anything the EU says it is.
Musk accused the EU of using the law to effectively censor views critical of the EU party line on issues such as immigration or US politics. He also revealed that Brussels had offered him “a secret deal” to quietly censor X according to the EU’s wishes or face a swingeing fine of six percent of annual corporate turnover. Days prior to his shock resignation, Breton vociferously denied that any “secret deals” had been offered.
He also went so far as to say it was ludicrous to suggest that a governing institution like the EU could do anything so underhand, despite the fact that Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg only recently confessed that he had secretly bowed to censorship requested by the Biden administration during the Covid pandemic. Zuckerberg claimed to have been pressured into actively suppressing accurate scientific information contradicting the US government’s draconian position on lockdowns, mask mandates, school closures, and the now largely accepted theory the virus originated in a Chinese biological weapons lab.
Musk, however, came out of his corner fighting when Breton ordered him to comply with legal obligations under the DSA regarding “the amplification of harmful content.” The Texas trillionaire-to-be responded by inviting the EU commissioner for the internal market “to take a step back and literally, fuck your own face,” which is, apparently, a well-known quote from a satirical American film, Tropic Thunder.
Musk’s threat to draw attention to some of the many skeletons rattling in the EU’s cupboard seems to have had its desired effect, forcing Brussels to stand down. The EU now appears to be claiming that Musk’s social platform X is too small for the NSA rulings to apply, which is odd as X has not shrunk significantly since the EU decided to censor it.
Brussels has a lot more to hide
Breton’s resignation and the EU’s climbdown are now leading to speculation that Brussels has much more to hide, given the EU’s unenviable and long-standing history regarding corruption scandals and under-the-table dealings. In the 1990s, the EU was rocked by revelations that some of its officials were working hand-in-glove with organized crime, enabling, for example, the Neapolitan mafia to embezzle billions of euros from the EU Tobacco Fund, intended to support small farmers. So far, many of the charges related to these and other serious crimes are still to be fully investigated. A similar veil of silence also seems to have fallen over subsequent financial scandals involving the European Parliament.
No one but conspiracy theorists can guess what cards Musk may actually be holding or exactly what the EU has to hide. However, the EU’s retreat from this particular cage fight suggests that Brussels may finally realize that it has little realistic hope of using draconian legislation to rule cyberspace.
