EU And Elon Battle Over The New Internet Regulations That Elon Himself Endorsed Last Year
You don't need to be some fortune teller to predict some of this stuff. A year ago, after he had announced his plans to buy Twitter (but before he tried to back out, and then was eventually forced to complete the purchase), we were horrified to see Elon Musk meet with the top EU's Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, and give a full embrace of the EU's Digital Services Act. As we noted at the time, there are some serious concerns about the free speech implications of the DSA, and someone who was actually committed to free speech would be calling those out, rather than claiming it's exactly aligned with my thinking."
Of course, Breton knew full well what he was doing, and that he was outplaying Musk, because Musk appears to have no curiosity about the impact of actual policy issues, and just works off of whims and spite.
So, it's no surprise that since Twitter was included as a VLOP" (Very Large Operating Platform), which is subject to the most stringent DSA rules, that the first company the EU is targeting under these rules is Twitter.
A top European Union official is in Silicon Valley to check whether Twitter is ready to comply with the bloc's tough new digital rulebook, a set of sweeping new standards that the world's biggest online platforms all must obey in just two months.
Breton met with Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino to discuss how the company will comply with the law. Over the last year or so, Breton has seemed almost gleeful in repeatedly reminding Musk that he endorsed the DSA last year, and now Breton seems to want to make sure that Musk regrets it.
But, according to Wired, Musk went to Europe recently to seek allies to fight back against the DSA, which is, well, quite late in the game to do that.
Before his trip to France, Musk stopped in Italy, a visit that appears to have helped consolidate the sympathies of right-wing supporters in his battle against the Digital Services Act. Musk, along with other tech leaders, opposes the package of EU rules on platform liability that includes requirements to block fake news and restrict online violence. And it is precisely the right-wing political forces in Europe that could help curb measures proposed by the European Commission.
That said, I'm confused by that paragraph, since the measures are no longer proposed." They're law. And some aspects of them go into effect in less than two months. And Musk has not yet publicly opposed the law, he's embraced it.
As part of that same trip, he apparently told reporters he's going to comply with the law.
If a law is enacted, Twitter commits to comply with it," he told TV presenter Anne-Sophie Lapix during an interview, broadcast in dubbed French, on France 2.
I mean, all of this suggests someone who is in way over his head on policy debates. He's telling people of course he'll comply with the law, while making decisions that will actively violate the law, while trying to shore up help to fight the law, while saying that the law aligns with his own views.
It's almost as if he has no clue and is just flailing around.
And the thing is, these rules may be the most consequential global laws for the next decade when it comes to free speech. Someone who actually was a free speech absolutist" would be working with actual experts to figure out how to make sure those laws don't create tons of harm regarding free speech. But, again, Musk's idea of free speech is simply let my trollish friends be assholes, while embracing dictators who censor, and kicking people who annoy me off Twitter."
It's not principled. It's not about free speech at all. It's about Elon Musk.