Writing for The Spectator, Tom Slater reflects that “it must be exhausting being Elon Musk. Alongside sending rockets into space, working on brain implants and running one of the world’s biggest social-media firms, he seems to have a plethora of beefs to attend to.
Slater continues: “So soon after Musk’s war of words with Keir Starmer, over the UK PM’s handling of the recent unrest, an old Brussels-based foe of his, European Commissioner Thierry Breton, has popped back up to chastise him for not ushering in censorship on X fast enough.
“Last night, Breton posted an open letter, channelling a jobsworth tax inspector, reminding Musk of his obligations, under the EU’s 2022 Digital Services Act (DSA), to take down various forms of ‘harmful content’.
“After some uproar today, the European Commission has said that Breton’s letter did not have the approval of its president Ursula Von der Leyen. ‘Thierry has his own mind and way of working and thinking,’ said an official, coldly.”
Click here to read more about how EU elites attempted to distance themselves from Breton.
“Still, Breton is no minor figure in the EU hierarchy, and the aim of his letter was clear. He all but blamed Britain’s race riots on X, noting the recent ‘public unrest brought about by the amplification of content that promotes hatred, disorder, incitement to violence, or certain instances of disinformation.’
“Even more outrageously, he was apparently spurred into action by Musk’s live audio interview on X last night with Donald Trump, with Breton cryptically referring to Musk’s then upcoming talk with ‘a US presidential candidate’.
Slater concludes: “No firm can expect to evade the law – even EU law, which lacks any shred of democratic legitimacy. But this is more than a compliance issue. This is a censorious crusade, waged by a Brussels elite keen to throw its weight around and crush dissent.
“There’s a reason the EU elites are ramping up the censorship at the very same time as populist voters and parties are challenging their right to rule. In the end, Breton’s beef isn’t with Musk. It’s with the millions of Europeans he has dared to give a voice to.”
Worth reading in full.
