EU warns Elon Musk over X compliance—he responds with vulgar ‘Tropic Thunder’ meme
X Tesla owner Elon Musk has hit out at a European Union official who warned him about complying with the bloc’s new Digital Services Act (DSA).
Musk borrowed a flowery line from Tom Cruise’s foul-mouthed character in the 2008 comedy ‘Tropic Thunder’ in response, which basically means ‘fuck off’ if you’re being polite.
While this scenario is playing out in Europe, it’s worth noting the contrast in Musk’s approach when dealing with another 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 because nearly half of Tesla’s electric cars are manufactured in China, and Musk’s 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 it all begin?
It all started with a letter posted by EU Commissioner Thierry Breton on Monday, warning Musk that he was failing to comply with his obligations to control harmful misinformation spreading to EU citizens on his social media platform X.
Under the DSA, platform owners have an obligation to remove illegal content as well as taking specific steps to mitigate legitimate but harmful content such as misinformation or disinformation.
Both Musk and Trump have previously produced and distributed Such content and when combined, they pose a significant problem for Brussels.
European Union opened formal proceedings against X in December, with the Commission notifying Musk’s company last month of the preliminary conclusion that this is, in fact, illegal. (Meta and TikTok are also under investigation.)
“I would like to clarify that any negative impact of illegal content on X in the EU […]may be relevant in the context of ongoing proceedings,” posted Commissioner Thierry Breton.
The letter was not discussed in advance with the EU Commission president.
But the timing of the letter and the weighty nature of Breton’s warning, which included a reference to Musk interview with Donald Trump, suggested search term European Union trending on X in the US.
The platform’s CEO, Linda Yaccarinoquickly condemned Breton’s letter as interference in America’s internal affairs.
“This is an unprecedented attempt to extend a law intended to apply in Europe to US electoral operations,” she said. wrote.
Musk, on the other hand, completely abandoned etiquette in his response. Writing to Breton, who is in charge of industrial policy in President Ursula von der Leyen The first administration is about to leave office.The owner of the car X advised this French man to have sex with himself in an unorthodox way.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the commission repeatedly declined to comment on Musk’s insulting of one of its senior officials in such a vulgar manner.
However, when asked, it was discovered that neither the timing nor the wording of the letter had been coordinated with von der Leyen, or any of Breton’s other counterparts.
It also forced a committee spokesperson to clarify that the letter was not intended to censor Musk’s interview with Trump, a open opponent of the EU.
“The idea behind DSA is to replicate [the same legal practices] “We have online what we have offline, so what is illegal offline must be presented online,” the spokesperson said. “The letter is not in any way intended to interfere with the US election.”
She added that the DSA only enforces online platforms’ obligations to prevent the distribution of illegal content within the EU, not in foreign jurisdictions such as the US.
Musk contributed to recent race riots in the UK
Musk is deliberately and explicitly telling advertisers to leave his social media platform to “go die” (only to turn back and sue them when they did).
But asking the European Union’s executive branch to do so is another matter entirely.
The EU is not without its critics: the UK even left the bloc in February 2020, looking for deeper ties with the US and Asia.
Eurosceptic and far-right parties also took extra seats in EU Parliament Elections held in June.
But the creation of the Single Market has ensured that Europe still has a seat at the table when the major powers negotiate global trade and economic policy. Unlike the post-Brexit UK, Europe remains a rule-maker, not a rule-taker.
Critics like to argue that because Europe’s bureaucratic culture is incapable of innovation, it is forced to adapt, with the DSA being a prime example.
It is designed to provide protections to stop online platforms spreading disinformation at the speed of light to tens, even hundreds of millions of people across the EU.
This has happened on a smaller scale recently in the UK, where the tragic murders of three young girls in the working-class community of Southport were wrongly attributed. fictional Arab illegal immigrantscausing widespread race riots targeting Muslims.
While X is just one of many platforms used to spread incitement to violence, only Musk has come up with personal seal of confirmation.
He predicted that Britain would collapse into civil war, accused the government of controlling the white community and promoting white nationalist and far-right agitators like Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka “Tommy Robinson”.
EU sends warning letter to Musk ahead of Trump interview. How stupid are these regulators?@elonmusk? Love that you stand up to them. https://t.co/kXjVfDHywk
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) August 13, 2024
Now Musk threatens to do the same in Europe, a continent that has twice engulfed the world in war over ethnic and racial hatred.
Brussels drafted the DSA to create a level playing field in which online platforms can compete while giving them responsibility for moderating content on their sites.
“The DSA is the cornerstone of the EU’s digital strategy and sets an unprecedented new standard for accountability of online platforms,” a Commission spokesperson said.
But many, including Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, still see it as overreach by the government. “How stupid are these regulators?” the 69-year-old Trump critic posted to Musk. “Love how you stand up to them.”
