LAST UPDATE | 26 Apr 2022
THE EUROPEAN UNION has warned billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk that Twitter will still have to comply with the EU’s new laws curbing the power of big tech.
“Whether on online harassment, the sale of counterfeit products… child pornography, or calls for acts of terrorism… Twitter will have to adapt to our European regulations which do not exist in the United States,” EU commissioner Thierry Breton told AFP.
In buying Twitter, Musk has vowed to take a robust free speech stance on the platform, raising concerns that it will become a host for hate and propaganda and leave the onus on users to combat bullying and misinformation.
If Musk carries through on his pledge, he will have to deal with the Digital Services Act, a major piece of EU legislation ensuring tougher consequences when platforms host banned content.
“No matter the shareholders, Twitter will from now on have to totally adapt to European regulations,” said Breton, who handles the EU’s industrial policy portfolio and was a key backer of the new laws.
“The law will now be very clear, much clearer in Europe than in the United States, with more rules in Europe than in the United States,” he said.
Asked about a possible return of former US president Donald Trump to Twitter, Breton said that the DSA also regulates decisions on who to ban by setting conditions and possibilities for appeal.
“We will have very clear, very precise, very democratic, very readable rules for deciding on bans,” Breton said. “With us, banishment will obviously be possible, in certain cases necessary, but under democratic control.”
The laws, once formally ratified by the bloc’s member states and the European Parliament, are expected to come into force in the coming months.
Jack backs Musk’s takeover
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has welcomed Elon Musk’s £34.5 billion takeover of his company as “the singular solution I trust”.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive has reached an agreement to buy the social media platform for $54.20 (€50.24) per share – about $44 billion (£41.1 billion).
Dorsey, who founded Twitter in 2006, gave his blessing to the takeover in a series of tweets – hailing the decision to let Musk take the social media platform into private ownership and away from the ad model and Wall Street.
“In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter,” he said.
“It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company.
Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.
I love Twitter. Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness.
— jack⚡️ (@jack) April 26, 2022
He said he agrees with Musk’s goal of creating a platform that is “maximally trusted and broadly inclusive”.
Dorsey added that he believes this is “the right path” for his company.
“I’m so happy Twitter will continue to serve the public conversation,” he said.
Around the world, and into the stars!
Musk, the world’s richest person, said last week that he had 46.5 billion dollars (£43.1 billion) in financing to place to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company’s board to negotiate a deal after it had initially resisted the entrepreneur’s approach for the platform.
That offer came after the billionaire had bought up a 9% stake in the company and looked set to join its board, before shifting to a takeover bid, saying he wanted to “unlock the potential” of the site.
In the wake of Musk’s offer, Twitter had enacted an anti-takeover measure known as a poison pill which could have made a takeover attempt more difficult and expensive, but the firm’s board decided to negotiate after Musk updated his proposal to show he had secured financing, according to reports in the US.
Following the agreement, Musk described Twitter as “the digital town square” in a joint statement with the social media platform.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he said.
He added that he wants to make Twitter “better than ever”, promising to get rid of spam bots and to open the platform’s algorithms to the public to increase trust.
The Tesla boss had previously said he wanted to buy Twitter because he did not believe it was properly serving the purpose of being a platform for free speech.
Critics of Musk’s efforts to take over the site have raised concerns over his stance as a “free speech absolutist” and there have been suggestions that he could relax its content moderation rules or possibly allow the return of certain suspended accounts, including that of former US president Donald Trump.
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