Musk: European Union attempted to blackmail X into censoring tweets
The EU to Elon Musk: “Nice company you got here.
Shame if something happened to it..”
Almost immediately after the European Union announced today that it considered X in violation of its Digital Services Act (DSA), claiming that the social media company owned by Elon Musk was breaking the act “in areas linked to dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers,” Elon Musk responded most bluntly in a tweet:
The European Commission offered 𝕏 an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us.
The other platforms accepted that deal.
𝕏 did not.
In other words, the EU tried to blackmail X and Musk into censoring some users of X, based on criteria that EU chose. When X refused to play that game, the EU followed through with today’s announcement, threatening the following if Musk does not kow-tow:
If the Commission’s preliminary views were to be ultimately confirmed, the Commission would adopt a non-compliance decision finding that X is in breach of Articles 25, 39 and 40(12) of the DSA. Such a decision could entail fines of up to 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider, and order the provider to take measures to address the breach. A non-compliance decision may also trigger an enhanced supervision period to ensure compliance with the measures the provider intends to take to remedy the breach. The Commission can also impose periodic penalty payments to compel a platform to comply.
A close read of the EU’s complaints about X suggests it simply doesn’t like the level of freedom and control the company allows for its users, as well as for itself. The EU doesn’t like that “anyone can subscribe to obtain such a ‘verified” status” and that X “does not allow for the required supervision and research into emerging risks brought about by the distribution of advertising online [emphasis mine].” Furthermore, it appears the EU wants X to provide free access to all of the company’s data, especially its “application programming interface,” something that seems to be proprietary information any company would wish to protect.
Even if the EU’s demands were reasonable, that it offered Musk a “secret deal” to avoid this action by censoring those the EU doesn’t like suggests it is as corrupt as many say it is. The game is power, and power alone, and the EU bureaucrats don’t like that Elon Musk does not bootlick them.
I would also be very curious what the other platforms are that agreed to this EU censorship deal. Could it be companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, etc? Think about that the next time you attempt a Google search for a particular political news story and the only sources that show up are those of the propaganda press.
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Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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The EU to Elon Musk: “Nice company you got here.
Shame if something happened to it..”
Almost immediately after the European Union announced today that it considered X in violation of its Digital Services Act (DSA), claiming that the social media company owned by Elon Musk was breaking the act “in areas linked to dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers,” Elon Musk responded most bluntly in a tweet:
The European Commission offered 𝕏 an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us.
The other platforms accepted that deal.
𝕏 did not.
In other words, the EU tried to blackmail X and Musk into censoring some users of X, based on criteria that EU chose. When X refused to play that game, the EU followed through with today’s announcement, threatening the following if Musk does not kow-tow:
If the Commission’s preliminary views were to be ultimately confirmed, the Commission would adopt a non-compliance decision finding that X is in breach of Articles 25, 39 and 40(12) of the DSA. Such a decision could entail fines of up to 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider, and order the provider to take measures to address the breach. A non-compliance decision may also trigger an enhanced supervision period to ensure compliance with the measures the provider intends to take to remedy the breach. The Commission can also impose periodic penalty payments to compel a platform to comply.
A close read of the EU’s complaints about X suggests it simply doesn’t like the level of freedom and control the company allows for its users, as well as for itself. The EU doesn’t like that “anyone can subscribe to obtain such a ‘verified” status” and that X “does not allow for the required supervision and research into emerging risks brought about by the distribution of advertising online [emphasis mine].” Furthermore, it appears the EU wants X to provide free access to all of the company’s data, especially its “application programming interface,” something that seems to be proprietary information any company would wish to protect.
Even if the EU’s demands were reasonable, that it offered Musk a “secret deal” to avoid this action by censoring those the EU doesn’t like suggests it is as corrupt as many say it is. The game is power, and power alone, and the EU bureaucrats don’t like that Elon Musk does not bootlick them.
I would also be very curious what the other platforms are that agreed to this EU censorship deal. Could it be companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, etc? Think about that the next time you attempt a Google search for a particular political news story and the only sources that show up are those of the propaganda press.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
“Dark patterns?!” Oh no, anything but that!
Tyrants need censorship. Russian, Chinese, European, or American, they’re all the same. Musk says he hopes for a very public trial. Good, it’s time to fight back against those people.
And what the hell do the European tyrants have any business regulating or fining foreign companies. You want to ban the platform in your jurisdiction, good luck with that, see how the people react. No, you just want to control the information.
Related:
Politically strongarming the entire civilized world with the Green New Deal / Net Zero.
https://youtu.be/DqI0o_GASYg?si=imNoDVIo8Zva59Uf
Your existence as a free human being is a threat to Democracy!
Their Democracy.
I do not think that any place in Europe has the same freedom of speech as the US does.
Similar but not identical. In many cases its just the government granting “freedom of speech” to the citizen.
I really hope Musk and X will refuse to comply, and that Musk will continue to bring this to the world’s attention.
The EU action is really about Xitter’s PAID speech: check marks and advertising. Another element is Xitter trying to discouraging researchers by charging excessive fees for access.
The reality is there are a lot of bots with check marks and many sketchy advertisers on the site. The point of the regs seems to be more transparency. It’s hard to tell who is behind many of these accounts. If you see an advertisement on TV for a refrigerator, you would know what brand(s) is/are being advertised and what retailer was offering deals on them. The paid advertising and check marks are not nearly as clear.
Elon is talking big here. But, if this goes to court, there would be discovery. And we might find out just how many bot accounts have check marks and get more info on sketchy advertisers. That would probably not be a good thing for Xitter. So there will probably be a settlement before it goes to court.
Musk famously promised to defeat the bots or die trying. So far he hasn’t delivered on either outcome.
I would note Musk had no problem deleting posts from opposition officials on behalf of the leaders of India and Turkey prior to elections in those countries. This was done supposed to follow the law in these nations. But, Musk also has business interests in both nations. With the EU, he’s suddenly saying the law doesn’t/shouldn’t apply. So there’s no consistency in his positions.
X has re-joined the world economic forum‘s Garm. Advertisements and Censorship is back.
We certainly learned not to put all eggs in the SpaceX basket, didn’t we?
Meanwhile, we had this statement from the White House yesterday, reacting to news of a donation by Elon to a GOP superPAC:
“Joe Biden has been standing up to people like Elon and fighting for the middle class his entire career — and it’s why he’ll win in November,” Singer said in a statement.
At least the first part of the sentence is clearly true.
Almost …almost … unbelievably, the FAA has “grounded” Falcon 9 until an investigation of the second stage booster explosion is completed.
The most reliable rocket in history is grounded after one mishap.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/spacex-falcon-9-suffers-rare-failure-space-imperiling-starlink-mission-2024-07-12/
“Joe Biden has been standing up to people like Elon and fighting for the middle class his entire career…”
Yeah, like hosting a White House conference on EVs, declaring GM’s Mary Barra the leader of the industry, and not inviting Tesla who sells more EVs than everyone else combined!
And just compare the Democrats’ constant angst about Joe’s ability to win in November, to how seldom they express any concern about his ability to be President right now! That tells you everything you need to know about their crooked priorities!
To me it’s their tacit admission: “See, he hasn’t been President for a couple years, and you didn’t even know!”
Political ads the next target
https://phys.org/news/2024-07-unregulated-online-political-ads-pose.html
D. Messier,
To the best of my knowledge, Musk has no business interests in Turkey or India other than Starlink. There have been some negotiations going on anent possible future Tesla car plants in both nations, but nothing has been confirmed in either case.
Meanwhile, in addition to Starlink, Musk has a huge Tesla plant in Germany so his business exposure in the EU is pretty clearly quite a bit larger than in Turkey or India.
And it is hardly as though Musk is alone in finding the EU ‘s activities problematical. So do sizable chunks of the various European national populations as evidenced by the rise in recent years of multiple nationalist and anti-EU political parties. As with the Democrats in the U.S., the EU is doing its best to institute perpetual rule by unelected techocrats and is getting pushback. As well it should.
Dick:
You’re knowledge is incomplete. SpaceX launches Turkish satellites. At the time of the election, it had a deal to launch a Turkish astronaut to the International Space Station via an Axiom flight. As you mentioned, there have been discussions about building facilities in both countries. In fact, Elon canceled a trip to India where he would have met with Modi. These are not insignificant markets for future growth given how Tesla’s share in existing markets is shrinking. Musk was willingness to curry favor with both leaders by aiding their election campaigns by censoring the opposition.
The EU law on Twitter doesn’t threaten Musk’s car facility in Germany that operates under German laws and regulations. It’s unlikely that the EU could do much of anything to stop Europeans from buying Teslas due to the way the common market works there. And, again, the law on social media doesn’t cover motor vehicles.
As for the rest of your post….it’s amazing how you laser focus on a party that didn’t attempt a coup on Jan. 6. didn’t send a mob to attack the Capitol that wanted to assassinate the vice president, and whose leader hasn’t talked longingly about being a dictator once in office. He just picked a VP who said he would have not certified the election as Pence did and assisted Trump in his illegal effort to stay in power. You are blind to the real threat here.