After Tesla's CEO Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, the officials of the European Union released a statement warning the billionaire that he still needs to follow the rules.
EU Sends Message to Musk
Over the weekend, the European Union or EU greenlit the Digital Services Act or DSA, which forces massive tech companies to more aggressively police the content on their respective platform, according to CNBC.
User-generated content platforms like Facebook and Twitter will be required to implement robust content moderation systems to ensure that they can take down any illegal material like incitement, terrorism, hate speech, and child sexual abuse.
Musk is one of Twitter's most popular users, and he has used the platform to make announcements about Tesla and his other companies. He also posts memes and attacks his critics.
Musk has previously called himself a "free speech absolutist," He said that he wants to reform Twitter as a digital down square with fewer restrictions on what users can say.
That could have huge consequences for the way the content is moderated on the platform, which is a key concern for regulators looking to rein in digital giants over the spread of hate speech and disinformation online, according to The Guardian.
It is unclear what Musk plans to do with the platform, and the process of him buying Twitter is one that is likely to take months, if not years.
But officials stateside have raised concerns over the possibility of Musk reinstating former US President Donald Trump's Twitter account, according to Financial Times.
Trump was banned from the social media platform after his supporters rioted in the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
France's digital minister, Cedric O, said that while there are interesting things that Musk wants to push for at Twitter, the EU's DSA will apply regardless of the ideology of the owner.
The EU's DSA
The DSA is expected to come into force in 2024. Tech companies that fall foul of the rules will be fined up to 6% of their global annual revenues, which is around $300 million for Twitter based on its 2021 sales figures.
The European commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, warned Musk that he would have to comply with the new regulations.
Breton said that any company operating in Europe needs to comply with the rules, regardless of their shareholdings.
Breton added that Musk knows the rules well as he is familiar with them because of Tesla, and he is confident that Musk will adapt to the DSA.
Breton is a former CEO of French IT firm Atos. He is the key architect of the EU's digital reforms. Alongside the Digital Markets Act or DMA, which seeks to curb the dominance of tech giants, the DSA is part of the plan by the bloc to regulate massive tech companies.
Musk's Twitter buyout serves as the first big test for the DSA. The EU may look to use the deal to test out the new enforcement tools.
Related Article: Elon Musk Reacts on Twitter Meme About His Purchase of the Company-What is Happening on Social Media?
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
