According to the New York Times, European Union regulators are pondering a $1 billion fine for Elon Musk’s X, taking into account revenue from his other ventures, including Tesla and SpaceX.
EU regulators allege that X violates the Digital Services Act and uses sections of the law to calculate revenue-based fines, including other companies Musk Controls.
Under the Digital Services Act, which policed social media companies in October 2022 and entered the law to “prevent illegal and harmful activities online,” businesses could be fined up to 6% of their global revenue for violations.
The Bullock’s administrative division, a spokesman for the European Commission, declined to comment on the New York Times on the incident, but said it would “continue to enforce our law fairly without discrimination against all businesses operating in the EU.”
In a statement, X’s Global Government Issues team said that if the report on the EU’s plans is accurate, it would “represent an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on freedom of speech.”
“X went up to comply with the EU’s digital services laws. We use all options at our disposal to protect our business, keep our users safe and protect our European freedom of speech,” says X’s Global Government Issues Team.
sauce: Global government issues
In addition to the fines, EU regulators are reportedly likely to request changes to products in X, with the full range of penalties announced in the coming months.
Still, the Times says that a settlement could be reached if social media platforms agree to changes that meet regulators.
One official who spoke with the Times said he is facing a second investigation that claims X’s approach to the platform’s approach to policing user-generated content, making it a hub for illegal hate speech and disinformation, which could lead to more penalties.
X EU surveys have been underway since 2023
The EU survey began in 2023. A preliminary ruling in July 2024 led X to violate the Digital Services Act by refusing to provide data to external researchers, provide appropriate transparency about advertisers, or verify the reliability of users with confirmed accounts.
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X responded to the verdict in a dispute of hundreds of points, and Musk argued that at the time he was offered a deal, X told him that if EU regulators secretly suppressed certain content, he would escape the fine.
Former EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said on the X Post on July 12, 2024 that there were no secret deals and that X’s team called for a “committee to explain the settlement process and clarify concerns,” and that the response was consistent with “established regulatory procedures.”
Musk replied, “I look forward to a very public battle in court so that Europeans can learn the truth.”
sauce: Thierry Breton
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