X owner Elon Musk pushed back against a European Union official who warned him about compliance with the bloc’s new Digital Services Act (DSA).
Musk borrowed a colorful line from Tom Cruise’s foul-mouthed character in the 2008 comedy “Tropic Thunder” for his response, which essentially meant “go push it” if you’re polite.
Although this scenario played out in Europe, it is worth noting the contrast in Musk’s approach in dealing with another major global power: China.
Despite his usual outspokenness, Musk has consistently refrained from criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping or other senior officials.
This reluctance is understandable considering that about half of Tesla’s electric vehicles are produced in China and the Musk-owned social media platform X remains inaccessible in the country due to strict censorship laws.
Honestly, I really wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude and irresponsible! https://t.co/jL0GDW5QUx pic.twitter.com/XhUxCSGFNP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2024
How did this all start?
It started with a letter posted on Monday by EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, warning Musk that he was failing to comply with the duty to monitor the spread of harmful disinformation among EU citizens on his social media platform X.
According to the DSA, platform owners are obliged to remove illegal content and take concrete steps to restrict legal but harmful content, such as misinformation or disinformation.
Both Musk and Trump have produced and distributed such content before, and together they pose a significant problem for Brussels.
The EU initiated formal proceedings against X in December, with the Commission notifying Musk’s company last month preliminary conclusion that it is actually contrary to the law. (Meta and TikTok are also under investigation.)
“Let me clarify that any negative impact of illegal content on X in the EU […]may be relevant in the context of the ongoing proceedings,” posted Commissioner Thierry Breton.
Letter not discussed in advance with the President of the European Commission
But the timing of the letter and the heavy-handed nature of Breton’s warning, which referenced Musk’s interview with Donald Trump, prompted the search term The EU trend on X in the United States.
The platform’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, quickly condemned Breton’s letter as an intervention in America’s internal affairs.
“This is an unprecedented attempt to extend a law intended to apply in Europe to pollist activities in the US,” she says wrote.
Musk, on the other hand, completely abandoned etiquette in his response. Writing to Breton, responsible for industrial policy under President Ursula von der Leyen outgoing first administrationthe X owner advised the Frenchman to perform sexual acts on himself in an unorthodox manner.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, the Commission repeatedly declined to comment on Musk insulting one of his top executives in such a vulgar manner.
Yet when asked, it revealed that both the timing and wording of the letter had not been coordinated with von der Leyen, or indeed with any other of Breton’s colleagues.
It also forced a Commission spokeswoman to clarify that the letter was not intended to censor Musk’s interview with Trump. outspoken opponent of the EU.
“The idea behind the DSA is to replicate [the same legal practices] online what we have offline, so what is illegal offline, must be represented online,” the spokeswoman said. “The letter was in no way intended to disrupt the US elections.”
She also added that the DSA only enforces the obligation of online platforms to prevent the spread of illegal content within the EU itself, and not in foreign jurisdictions such as the United States.
Musk has helped spark recent race riots in Britain
It’s one thing for Musk to deliberately and explicitly tell advertisers who leave his social media platform to “go for yourself” (and then turn around and sue them when they do).
It is quite another to tell the executive branch of the European Union to do the same.
The EU is certainly not without its critics: Britain even left the bloc in February 2020, preferring deeper ties with the United States and Asia.
Also Eurosceptic and extreme right-wing sovereigntist parties won more seats in the European Parliament elections held in June.
But the creation of the Single Market has ensured that Europe continues to have a place at the table when major powers negotiate global trade and economic policy. Unlike post-Brexit Britain, it remains a rule maker and not a rule taker.
Critics like to argue that because Europe’s bureaucratic culture cannot innovate, it is forced to regulate, with the DSA being a prime example.
It aims to provide guardrails that prevent online platforms from spreading disinformation at the speed of light to tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people in the EU.
This recently happened on a smaller scale in Britain, where the tragic murder of three young girls from the working-class community of Southport was wrongly attributed to a fictional illegal Arab migrantleading to widespread race riots targeting Muslims.
While X was just one of several platforms used to spread incitement to violence, only Musk gave his own personal stamp of approval.
He predicted that Britain would collapse into civil war, accused the government of policing white communities and amplified the situation white nationalist and far-right agitators such as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka “Tommy Robinson.”
EU sends warning letter to Musk ahead of Trump interview. How stupid are these regulators@elonmusk? I love that you’re standing up to them. https://t.co/kXjVfDHywk
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) August 13, 2024
Now Musk is threatening to do the same in Europe, a continent that has twice embroiled the world in war over ethnic and racial hatred.
Brussels created the DSA to create a level playing field in which online platforms can compete while giving them the responsibility to moderate the content on their sites.
“The DSA is a cornerstone of the EU’s digital strategy and sets an unprecedented new standard for the accountability of online platforms,” the Commission spokeswoman said.
Nevertheless, many, including Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, still see this as government overreach. “How stupid are these regulators?” the 69-year-old Trump critic posted to Musk. “I think it’s great that you’re standing up to them.”
