Musk to Brussels? – The EU’s X investigation is tightening

The EU Commission announced on Friday that it has expanded its investigation into the billionaire Elon Musk’s from own message service X.

The Commission demands more information about X’s algorithms: the focus of the investigation is the distribution of illegal content and the manipulation of information.

X is suspected of manipulating the operation of the platform in such a way that far-right publications and politicians get more visibility than other political actors.

Musk’s X has been under EU investigation since December 2023. In July of last year, the union considered that X is not transparent enough in its advertising and does not give researchers access to its data.

Musk has also raised eyebrows in the EU with recent public attacks on European decision-makers. Among other things, he has publicly supported Germany’s far-right AfD party before the German Bundestag elections in February.

Mepi on the go

The EU Commission has received a lot of criticism from politicians who would like to introduce tougher measures to intervene in X’s activities and Musk’s interference, especially in Germany’s domestic politics.

Dozens of MEPs sent the Commission President this week Ursula von der Leyenille a letter expressing their concern about Musk’s actions.

Also the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz said Friday that Musk is endangering European democracy with his attacks on political leadership and his support for the far right.

On the other hand, there are also Musk’s admirers among the MEPs.

This week, 43 MEPs sent a letter to the Speaker of the EU Parliament, To Roberta Metsolain which they demand that Musk must be consulted by Parliament.

The MEPs who signed the letter are mainly from right-wing, conservative and nationalist parties, but there are also Romanian socialists.

MEPs hope that Musk could share his views on the development of technology and improving Europe’s competitiveness to the parliament.

According to critics, the far-right MPs want to support their own politics by inviting Musk to the parliament.

Basic Finns Sebastian Tynkkynen was one of the 43 MEPs who want to invite Musk to be heard at the plenary session of the European Parliament.

“Musk would certainly have a lot to give, especially in relation to competitiveness, which is a big theme, but also freedom of speech,” says Tynkkynen.

He considers the commission’s monitoring of X to be a “Soviet attitude” and an attempt at censorship.

Tynkkynen also recently submitted an initiative to the EU Parliament, in which he demands that the EU’s digital services regulation be changed in those parts where, according to him, the regulation restricts freedom of speech.

Censorship or security?

The EU Digital Services Regulation (DSA), which entered into force last February, is rubbing shoulders with techno giants and the EU. It is part of the Union’s legislative toolkit, which tries to curb the excesses of techno giants and limit the publication of illegal content if it poses a serious threat or is a matter of election interference.

Elon Musk has accused the DSA regulation of censorship.

The greens’ meppi Ville Niinistö emphasizes that the EU Digital Services Act does not mean censorship.

“Opinions are allowed. You can say that a dictatorship is better than a democracy, but you can’t pose a threat to someone else”.

SDP’s Euro representative Maria Guzenina describes the digital service regulation as “Europe’s watchtower”.

“This is part of our defense, because if the basic pillars of our democracy can be shaken, i.e. free elections and information influence is strengthened through algorithms, it will indeed start to break up our society.”

“I understand that from the extreme right this is a very pleasant development, but for the rest of us this kind of development is absolutely terrifying,” says Guzenina.

Member of the Left Alliance Li Andersson’s says that the monopoly position created for a few social media “is not healthy by any measure”.

“That’s why it’s obvious that regulations are needed on how to operate on these platforms.”

“The fact that the richest man in the world has bought himself a social media platform is also a big democratic issue, and then uses it as he wants, for example to support the extreme right even in countries where he is not a citizen himself.”

RKP:n mepin, Anna-Maja Henriksson’saccording to “if an outside party tries to influence the layout and outcome of elections in a member country, it is a really, really serious matter”.

He hopes that the issue will be discussed next week in Strasbourg during the plenary session of the Parliament.

The leader of the coalition Mika Aaltola says he is not “unreasonably concerned about X’s activities”.

Aaltola considers it an emphasis on freedom of speech that belongs to American culture.

“I would wait here for the commission to make its decision, and then legal processes can follow.”

According to Aaltola, the EU should pay more attention to its own internal weakness and lack of alignment than to Musk’s barking.

“Outsourcing this to Musk – when you don’t dare to bark at Trump – is not a terribly good tactic either,” says Aaltola.