Elon Musk escalated a dispute with ex-EU digital chief Thierry Breton on Saturday, branding him the “dictator of Europe” as the two men did business online.
The tech billionaire, an ally of incoming US President Donald Trump, has long criticized EU rules regulating the digital space and accused Brussels of censorship. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg repeated that allegation this week.
Musk has recently angered Europe with repeated insults to the continent’s leaders and his open support for the far-right German AfD party ahead of elections next month.
His latest outburst against Breton came after he said Europe could take action to prevent election interference.
One account shared an excerpt from Breton’s interview with French broadcaster BFMTV/RMC, claiming he said “the EU has mechanisms in place to void a possible electoral victory for the AfD”, leading Musk to The talk prompted criticism of what he called “the astonishing absurdity of Thierry Breton as a dictator”. Of Europe.”
Britten rejected the claim in an X post.
“Dictators of Europe? Wow! But not Elon Musk: The EU has no mechanism to cancel any election anywhere in the EU. What is said in the video below is only about the application of the DSA and its Not related to moderation responsibilities. Lost in translation…or some other fake news?”
The DSA is the EU’s landmark Digital Services Act, which seeks to crack down on illegal content online from platforms.
In Thursday’s interview, Breton said Europe should “remain calm and enforce our laws in Europe when there is a risk of them being sidelined and there is a risk of intervention when they are not enforced.”
“We did it in Romania and if it becomes necessary in Germany too, we will obviously have to do it,” he said.
The European Union last month launched an investigation into TikTok under the DSA after allegations that the platform was used by Russia to influence the outcome of Romania’s presidential election were later quashed by a top Romanian court. Was cancelled.
European regulators are also investigating X from December 2023, but Musk’s close ties to Trump have raised questions about how the EU will handle his platform and its suspected DSA violations, which could lead to fines.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
