close
close

Republican-led House Judiciary Committee condemns EU Commissioner Thierry Breton for attempting to intimidate Elon Musk's “X: Freedom Is Coming!”

The House Judiciary Committee called on the European Union to Thierry Breton for attempting to “intimidate” Elon Musk's X.

What happened: The House Judiciary Committee has condemned the European Union's actions and threatened to investigate its attempts to curtail free speech.

On Thursday, Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter to EU Commissioner Breton accusing him of trying to use the law as a “weapon” against Musk. This followed Breton’s open letter to X warning Musk against spreading “hateful content” ahead of a broadcast featuring the former president Donald Trump.

The letter cited a 2022 EU law that would fine social media platform owners for spreading content that promotes hatred, unrest or disinformation. Jordan claimed Breton had targeted conservatives such as Musk and Trump.

“In light of your recent threats of reprisal against the American company X Corp. for promoting political discourse in the United States, we are writing to request that you cease all attempts to intimidate individuals or companies that express political views in the United States,” Jordan wrote.

“Freedom is coming!” joked the official report of the House Judiciary Committee on X.

Breton's letter was not authorized by the European Commission, which distanced itself from his comments. Musk responded sarcastically to X, while the Trump campaign team accused the EU of interfering in US politics.

See also: Trump has 'lost control,' says veteran GOP pollster – Kamala Harris has 'intensity advantage' as game-changing force

Jordan also called on the State Department to investigate the government's communications with the EU on the issue and criticized the Biden-Harris administration for its silence on the matter.

Why it is important: The controversy began when Breton sent a warning letter to Musk urging him to refrain from spreading “harmful content” during an upcoming Trump interview.

Breton stressed that Musk's platform X falls under the jurisdiction of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates illegal content and misinformation on major social media platforms.

In July, the EU had already issued a formal warning to X for failing to control harmful content. This warning was part of a broader regulatory action against big tech companies that includes fines of up to 6% of X's turnover.

In addition, Breton had called on Musk in October to take action against misinformation on X in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Breton expressed concerns about the misuse of X to spread illegal content and misinformation within the EU.

Read more:

Disclaimer: This content was created in part using AI tools and reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

Market news and data provided by Benzinga APIs

© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

You may also like...