Sandro Gozi: ‘If Musk does not respect our laws, the Union will close X in Europe’

Interview by Alberto D’Argenio in Repubblica.it, 19 August 2024

If Elon Musk doesn’t comply with European rules on digital services, the European Commission will ask continental operators to block X or, in the most extreme case, impose the total dismantling of the platform on the territory of the Union”. This was said by Sandro Gozi, MEP elected in France with Emmanuel Macron’s party, secretary of the European Democratic Party and member of the presidency of the Renew Liberals in Strasbourg. This interview comes in the wake of the controversy between Elon Musk and the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, who wrote a letter to the tech magnate on 12 August reminding him that in the interview with Donald Trump that he was to moderate the next day on X, he should have refrained from spreading fake news and, above all, violent and hateful messages. The reason for the letter was that the interview would also be available in Europe. Musk responded with a middle finger that sparked controversy on both sides of the Atlantic. And Matteo Salvini’s League backed him up, criticising Breton and speaking of Maduro-style ‘censorship’.

Mr Gozi, what authority does the European Commission have over an interview with a US presidential candidate?

Musk, like all other big tech entrepreneurs, has to take note that there are laws in Europe and they have to be respected. We are talking about the Digital Services Act (DSA), which obviously applies to X, since a third of its subscribers are on our continent. As an MEP, I fought for its adoption in Strasbourg, so I not only defend Breton’s letter, I would have criticised him if he had not written it. Besides, we at Renew had already asked Breton to respond to Musk’s violent posts about racist incidents in the UK.

How does he respond to criticism from the American and European right – such as the League – who accuse Brussels of censorship?

This is a baseless objection, cleverly used by Musk and his friends on the far right. It has nothing to do with freedom of expression, Europe does not want to prevent digital companies from hosting content, but we do want to stop the virality of content that is considered extremist, first and foremost incitement to hatred, because it undermines the democratic functioning of our societies and can lead to real-life violence. The viral spread of violent content online can lead to violence offline. We are no longer in the digital Wild West, Europe is the first continent to regulate this, while the US is lagging behind. Musk pretends to forget this, but this is what the DSA regulation is for, we need to impose it on everyone, starting with X. He should be told in English: ‘Freedom of speech is not freedom of reach’.

Why did Breton write specifically to Musk about the Trump interview?

Trump’s contributions have played a very clear role in the attack on Congress, and Musk himself a few days ago incited the hatred of the far-right groups that have put the UK to the sword. Salvini is exactly in this vein, so it is not surprising that he confuses freedom of expression with online violence. On the other hand, when Musk bought Twitter, he dismantled the services that ensured moderation and transparency. In this context, the DSA empowers the responsible commissioner, i.e. Breton, to act preventively – not after the damage has been done – and autonomously to prevent incitement to hatred, verbal violence and disinformation from altering the European democratic process. And he did well, as Musk had announced the interview in grand style, talking about ‘the biggest broadcast event in the history of the internet’.

What are the consequences if Musk fails to comply with European regulations in the coming months?

Because too much power without transparency is a danger for the functioning of our society, the DSA stipulates that if a platform does not comply with moderation obligations and does not take the necessary measures against violent content and misinformation, periodic penalties of up to 5% of the global average daily turnover can be applied for each day of delay in complying with corrective measures. And in the most serious cases, it can go as far as shutting down the platform itself – in this case, X – and, in any case, asking telecom operators to block access to the site’.

These are extreme measures.

In the US, where Big Tech is very influential, there is a regulatory vacuum that Musk is exploiting. In Europe, this is no longer the case; the DSA is revolutionary, but it is now facing the first credibility tests in its application. That is why Breton must be supported, and on the other hand the letter was written by his officials and had passed the scrutiny of the Commission’s legal services, so from a legal point of view it was unassailable. Of course, Europe does not want to interfere in the slightest in the US electoral process, it merely reminds us of our obligations under our laws’.