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European Union to Investigate Elon Musk and X Over Possible Violations of Social Media Laws
American Greatness ^ | 19 Dec, 2023 | Eric Lendrum

Posted on 12/19/2023 7:46:03 AM PST by MtnClimber

On Monday, the European Union (EU) formally announced that it would be launching an investigation into X, the platform formally known as Twitter, over alleged violations of laws meant to crack down on free speech.

According to ABC News, the investigation will be the first one of its kind under new regulations passed by the 27-nation European bloc. In a post on X, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement that “Today we open formal infringement proceedings against @X” under the Digital Services Act.

Back in October, the EU asked X to hand over information regarding any possible efforts to suppress free speech, in the name of combating “hate speech,” “misinformation,” and violence, particularly terrorist-related violence in the midst of the ongoing war in Israel. European Commission spokesman Johannes Bahrke said that the EU’s executive branch “will now investigate X’s systems and policies related to certain suspected infringements,” and claimed that such an investigation will “not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.”

In a statement responding to the announcement, X reiterated that it is “committed to complying with the Digital Services Act, and is cooperating with the regulatory process. It is important that this process remains free of political influence and follows the law.”

“X is focused on creating a safe and inclusive environment for all users on our platform, while protecting freedom of expression, and we will continue to work tirelessly towards this goal,” the company statement continued.

Ever since Twitter was acquired last year by Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, the platform was heavily revamped in favor of being much friendlier to free speech, as opposed to the censorship that was favored by the overwhelmingly left-wing previous owners. As a result, the rebranded platform has faced greater scrutiny and crackdowns from various government agencies, as well as advertiser boycott campaigns by groups such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Musk himself pushed back on the investigation, publicly asking in response to Breton’s statement whether or not the EU would be “taking action against other social media.”

“Because if you have those issues with this platform, and none are perfect, the others are much worse,” Musk added.


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: censorship; europe; freespeech; internet; lawfare; musk; socialmedia
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1 posted on 12/19/2023 7:46:03 AM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

The new censorship in socialist EU-Land where muslim barbarity is A-OK.


2 posted on 12/19/2023 7:46:44 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Investigate? Possible?

The verdict is already in.

They will probably have Arthur F. Engoron clone weigh the evidence.


3 posted on 12/19/2023 7:48:52 AM PST by Raycpa
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To: MtnClimber

Just another Shakedown


4 posted on 12/19/2023 7:51:06 AM PST by butlerweave
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To: MtnClimber

Investigate what. They have now power over Elon. Tell them to GTH.


5 posted on 12/19/2023 7:51:44 AM PST by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: MtnClimber

Musk is globohomo target #1

They are upset they lost twitter as a propaganda outlet

Biden’s DOJ already has several investigations and actions going on


6 posted on 12/19/2023 7:53:45 AM PST by PGR88
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To: Sacajaweau

Hey EU, “Go F**k yourself”!


7 posted on 12/19/2023 7:54:39 AM PST by Right Brother (Pray for God's intervention to stop UMCRevMom's invasion of Free Republic)
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To: MtnClimber

Tell me why my family fought and died for this continent and the thugs who live there?


8 posted on 12/19/2023 8:12:12 AM PST by Regulator (It's fraud, Jim)
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To: MtnClimber

Elon should de-platform ALL EU accounts on X. Seriously...the EU infests X like a plague of locusts.


9 posted on 12/19/2023 8:13:05 AM PST by moovova ("The NEXT election is the most important election of our lifetimes!“ LOL...)
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To: MtnClimber
Elon Musk should just announce that he will restrict the EU Market to paid subscribers ($10 euros a month?).

Than the EU will shut up because Twitter will become an exclusive product so there will be less of an opportunity for them to regulate it.

10 posted on 12/19/2023 8:15:30 AM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MtnClimber

Our “allies.”


11 posted on 12/19/2023 8:20:02 AM PST by wildcard_redneck (He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.)
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To: moovova

Don’t even need to. Just IP ban the entire continent and add something to the TOS saying that Europeans are not allowed to use the site.

But he won’t do that, they never have the balls to do that.


12 posted on 12/19/2023 8:34:07 AM PST by Boogieman
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To: MtnClimber

They don’t even try to hide their political weaponization any more.


13 posted on 12/19/2023 8:41:36 AM PST by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: MtnClimber

Lawfare to punish their political opponents. Gee, how Marxist of them.

Now where have we seen this before?


14 posted on 12/19/2023 9:11:49 AM PST by Boomer (The Long Winter is coming...)
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To: MtnClimber

Lord bless and protect him. Reveal Yourself to him, so that he will know in an unmistakable way, that You are Lord. They are ravenous wolves who want to stop him from allowing the truth to go forth.


15 posted on 12/19/2023 9:58:09 AM PST by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
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To: MtnClimber

Just ignore them. Have no physical presence in those countries. If the EU decides to block Twitter, they can deal with their constituents. Which they really don’t have, because the EU is not an elected governor.


16 posted on 12/19/2023 1:54:29 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dogs are called man's best friend. Moslems hate dogs. Add it up.)
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To: Boogieman

He doesn’t have to. It’s not his problem to make sure people can’t access his site. If the EU wants to block it, that’s their decision. If you ran a website here in America, it’s not up to you to make sure people in China can’t access your product. Odd that you think it is the responsibility of Elon to accomplish the goals of the EU, and that he doesn’t have the balls to do it. The onus is on the EU… They are the ones who don’t have the balls to block it and deal with their citizens. Although they really don’t have constituents per se, because they don’t vote for their leaders .


17 posted on 12/19/2023 1:57:55 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dogs are called man's best friend. Moslems hate dogs. Add it up.)
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To: wildcard_redneck

To think that we spent the better part of the Twentieth Century,$4.1 trillion and 405,799 lives defending them from the kind of government that they are turning into. It seems like a grim joke.


18 posted on 12/19/2023 3:44:40 PM PST by jmcenanly (You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.” ― Winston)
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To: DesertRhino

“It’s not his problem to make sure people can’t access his site.”

It’s certainly going to be his problem when the European courts find him liable under the law and levy massive fines against him. Blocking the European users would circumvent that. The EU doesn’t want to block people from accessing the site; they want people to access it so they can then fine Elon until he relents and changes his policies.


19 posted on 12/19/2023 4:52:52 PM PST by Boogieman
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To: Boogieman

Well, how do they levy the fines when the product itself is US-based?


20 posted on 12/19/2023 6:55:32 PM PST by SrgMcLeod999 (Nam is back now, grateful to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas fer that.)
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