EU Breton says Musk must comply with EU law ahead of Trump’s Reuters interview

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU industry chief Thierry Breton told billionaire Elon Musk in a letter on Monday that he must comply with EU law ahead of Musk’s interview with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on social media platform X.

The interview, scheduled for 20:00 Eastern Time (0000 Tuesday GMT), will also be accessible to users in the EU, Breton wrote, adding: “In this context, I am obliged to remind you of the due diligence obligations set out in Digital. Services Act (DSA).”

“The DSA obligations apply without exception or discrimination to the moderation of the entire user community and content of X (including you as a user with more than 190 million followers) that is accessible to users in the EU and should be fulfilled in accordance with the approach based on risks. of DSA, which requires greater diligence in the event of a foreseeable increase in the risk profile,” Breton wrote in his letter.

The DSA Act requires very large platforms to do more to address illegal content and risks to public safety.

Last month, EU tech regulators ruled that X violated the DSA and cheated users by using blue flags.

X has said it disagrees with the EU’s assessment of how it complies with the DSA, while owner Musk has threatened litigation.