Elon Musk has issued a harsh response to the European Union after a senior Brussels official threatened to take action against his social media site X.
The controversial billionaire, considered the richest person in the world, clashed with the bloc’s digital chief, Thierry Breton, ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump.
Responding to Breton’s warning about the spread of hate and misinformation online in the wake of the UK riots, Musk shared an expletive-laden meme.
Posting an image from the film Tropic Thunder, he told the EU official: ‘Take a big step back and literally fuck your own face!’
The confrontation came just hours before Musk was set to broadcast his chat with Trump on X, which followed the former US president’s return to the site formerly known as Twitter.
Elon Musk has issued a harsh response to the European Union after a senior Brussels official threatened to take action against his social media site X.
The controversial billionaire, considered the richest person in the world, clashed with the bloc’s digital chief, Thierry Breton, ahead of his meeting with Donald Trump.
The European Internal Market Commissioner said the conversation between Musk and Trump would be accessible to around 100 million X users in the EU.
In his warning to Musk, Breton referred to the recent riots in Britain. There are concerns that the unrest was sparked by online misinformation on sites such as X
In his letter to Musk, Breton issued a stern warning to the South African-born entrepreneur ahead of his broadcast with the Republican presidential candidate.
The French politician, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, said that the conversation between Musk and Trump would be accessible to around 100 million X users in the EU.
It noted that under EU law, X is required to ensure that “all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are implemented with respect to the amplification of harmful content.”
“This is important in the context of recent examples of public unrest caused by the amplification of content promoting hatred, disorder, incitement to violence or certain cases of disinformation,” he added.
Mr Breton referred to the recent violent riots in towns and cities across Britain following the Southport stabbing.
There are concerns that the chaos may have been partly fuelled at sites such as X, including by the spread of misinformation online about the Southport suspect.
Musk recently had an altercation with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer amid chaos on the streets of the UK, claiming that “civil war is inevitable.”
He used the hashtag #TwoTierKeir on social media, in reference to accusations of “two-tier policing” in Britain.
Musk was also left red-faced after promoting false claims that the prime minister had set up detention camps on the Falkland Islands for rioters.
In his letter ahead of the interview with Trump, Breton told Musk: “As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and is also amplified in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude possible repercussions in the EU.
‘We are therefore monitoring potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hatred and racism in connection with major political or social events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.
It warned that “any negative effect of illegal content on X in the EU” that could be attributed to “ineffective” content control by X would be part of the EU’s ongoing investigation into whether the site complies with Brussels rules.
“This is in line with what has already been done in the recent past, for example in relation to the impact and amplification of terrorist content or content inciting violence, hatred and racism in the EU, as in the context of the recent riots in the United Kingdom,” he added.
In his letter to Mr Musk, Mr Breton issued a stern warning to the South African-born businessman ahead of his broadcast with Mr Trump.
Musk responded to the EU official by sharing an expletive-filled meme from the movie Tropic Thunder
In his chat with Trump at X, Musk attempted to engage the former president in a discussion about “censorship” of Americans “from other countries.”
Mr Breton said he would “not hesitate to make full use of our tools, including by adopting provisional measures, if necessary to protect EU citizens from serious harm”.
It was previously reported how, in a video meeting with Musk in 2022, Breton threatened to ban X unless it complied with strict rules on content moderation.
Responding to Breton’s letter last night, which the EU official posted on X, Musk wrote: “To be honest, I really wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude and irresponsible!”
He also shared the expletive-filled meme from the movie Tropic Thunder.
Linda Yaccarino, executive director of X, said of Breton’s letter: “This is an unprecedented attempt to extend a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the United States.
‘It also patronises European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions.’
In his chat with Trump at X, Musk attempted to engage the former president in a discussion about “censorship” of Americans “from other countries.”
Mr Trump responded by saying the EU was “bad” at trading with the US and criticising Nato for not spending enough on defence.
“That’s probably why they notified you,” he said. “They don’t treat our country well.”
Trump’s X account had previously posted a series of tweets for the first time in nearly a year.
He had previously been suspended from the site in January 2021 due to the risk of further incitement of violence from his account, according to the company.
This came after the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of the former president.
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