Elon Musk has suggested that the European Union attempted to coerce him with an underhanded deal to secretly implement censorship within his platform. Musk further added that EU-designed negotiations were accepted by other online platforms. However, he outrightly rejected the concealed deal.
On Friday, the EU made strides in evidencing the potency of its fresh Digital Services Act (DSA) by launching an attack on X, which is owned by Musk.
The group accused X of being in violation of specific EU regulations and threatened the platform with punitive fines. In response to this, Musk was quick to counter-attack by criticizing the DSA as a “canned misinformation” source. He further revealed that the EU had solicited a clandestine deal with him for entering into censorship pertaining to the EU’s directives.
In his revelation, Musk stated, “The European Commission offered [X] an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us.” He assured his stance by saying, “The other platforms accepted that deal,” however, he did not agree to participate. He also expressed his anticipations for the future, saying, “We look forward to a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth.”
The European Union criticized X for its lack of transparency and pointed out that social media platforms are obligated to counteract “illegal content” as well as “risks to public security” as per its regulations. Furthermore, the EU claimed that it was discontent with the X’s blue check system, deeming it incompatible with the “industry practice.”
In case of non-compliance with EU’s stipulations, X could face repercussions, including a potential fine equivalent to six percent of its total global turnover.