Elon Musk warned by the European Union before his live interview with Donald Trump on X

The European Commissioner for Digital Affairs has sent a letter to Elon Musk to remind him of his moderation obligations during the interview he is due to broadcast live on X on Monday evening.

Published


Reading time: 1 min

Elon Musk, left, is scheduled to interview U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, right, live on X on the evening of August 12. (FREDERIC J. BROWN,BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

An interview between the richest man in the world and a billionaire running for the White House. On the evening of Monday, August 12, Elon Musk is scheduled to interview Donald Trump live on his X network and has promised a moment “very entertaining” with the former president whom he openly supports in the race for the White House.

This interview between two men accustomed to outrageous and controversial statements will be broadcast on X, a platform accused of having become a mouthpiece for the radical right and lax in the face of disinformation. This is why, a few hours before the interview, the European Commissioner for Digital Affairs, Thierry Breton, sent a letter to Elon Musk to remind him of his moderation obligations under the new European legislation on digital services, stressing in particular that this moderation requirement applies to all X users, “including yourself”.

Pointing out that he controls “a platform with more than 300 million users worldwide, a third of whom are in Europe”the European Commissioner reminds the billionaire that he has a legal obligation to respect European law. “My services and I will be extremely vigilant (…) regarding possible violations of the DSA and we will not hesitate to use all the tools at our disposal, including temporary measures, if this proves necessary to protect European citizens”underlines Thierry Breton in his letter.

The conversation between the two billionaires is set to air at 8pm Eastern Time and 2am Paris time on Donald Trump’s account, which was suspended after his supporters attacked the Capitol but reinstated after Elon Musk bought it.


source site-33