First Digital Services Act challenge: Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover
The European Parliament and Council approved the Digital Services Act, anticipating challenges from Elon Musk’s Twitter presence due to his history of free speech advocacy. Officials vow to regulate harmful content on all platforms, regardless of ownership, with experts predicting Musk’s influence as a test for the Act’s enforcement.
The European Parliament and Council reached a political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA) a few days ago. Experts foresaw challenges brought by Elon Musk’s entrance into digital platforms with his takeover of Twitter. Musk himself is a frequent user of Twitter and has a history of pushing back and fighting against the government, especially on the topic of free speech. Cédric O (the Digital Minister of the Republic of France) and Thierry Breton (the European Commissioner of the Internal Market) voiced staunch stances on implementing the DSA and curbing harmful, illegal content on digital platforms regardless of the owner of the company. Experts predicted that the Musk-Twitter deal might be the first challenge for the European Commission to “test out” its new enforcement tools.
Source: CNBC, The Financial Times
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