Elon Musk is a ‘promoter of evil’, says EU official
One of the EU’s most senior politicians has branded Elon Musk a “promoter of evil” in a major escalation of the war of words between Brussels and the outspoken tech billionaire.
Věra Jourová, a Czech politician who is in charge of the commission’s work on online misinformation and hate speech, said Mr Musk is “not able to recognise good and evil” and called X – formerly known as Twitter – “the main hub for spreading antisemitism”.
Ms Jourová is leaving Brussels after a five-year stint as the EU’s vice president for values and transparency. She was EU commissioner for justice from 2014 to 2019.
She has previously attacked X for easing rules on content moderation since Mr Musk bought Twitter and rebranded it two years ago.
“We started to relativise evil, and he’s helping it proactively. He’s the promoter of evil,” Ms Jourová told Politico. She added that while she had never met him, “even without this personal meeting, I would say that out of all the bosses I met, he is the only one who is not able to recognise good and evil”.
Since Musk took over Twitter, it has become an increasing target of Brussels regulators.
The EU has accused the company of breaking its new social media rules through its paid-for “blue tick” verification service, saying that it means users could be deceived. The claims could lead to a multimillion-euro fine.
Mr Musk alleged the commission had offered him a “secret deal” in which the company would avoid a fine if it agreed to censor content and vowed a “very public battle in court”. The claim was denied by Brussels.
We look forward to a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth https://t.co/nKBGEPxeEa
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2024
The company, which has closed its Brussels office, has also been accused of breaking advertising transparency rules and has been investigated over claims it is allowing posts promoting Hamas. In July the EU said the investigation into this matter was still ongoing, having charged X with other breaches related to transparency rules. It has so far not been charged with issues related to promoting Hamas.
Thierry Breton, one of the bloc’s top tech regulators, was accused of meddling in the US election when he wrote to Mr Musk on the eve of a live streamed interview between the billionaire and Donald Trump, warning X to comply with EU laws on inciting violence and hate. Mr Breton has since retired from his role.
Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of X, said the letter was an “unprecedented attempt” to stretch EU law to US politics.
The degree of intervention has reportedly led Mr Musk to privately consider blocking X for users in the EU.
X pulled out of a voluntary EU code of practice regarding disinformation, overseen by Ms Jourová, during the early months of Mr Musk’s ownership.