‘Elon, There Are Rules’: EU Commissioner Warns Of Possible Ban

‘Elon, There Are Rules’: EU Commissioner Warns Of Possible Ban

Harold Hutchison on April 27, 2022

A high-ranking European Union regulator warned Elon Musk that failure to follow its digital rules could lead to Twitter being banned in Europe, the Financial Times reported.

“We welcome everyone. We are open but on our conditions,” the EU’s Commissioner of the Internal Market, Thierry Breton said, according to the Times. “At least we know what to tell him: ‘Elon, there are rules. You are welcome but these are our rules. It’s not your rules which will apply here.’”

Musk acquired Twitter in a $43.4 billion deal Monday, and stated his intention to prioritize free speech on the platform in the wake of allegations of politically-motivated censorship. In one tweet, Musk referred to the platform’s suppression of a New York Post story regarding a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden.

“Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate,” Musk tweeted.

By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.

I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.

If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.

Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022

“If [Twitter] does not comply with our law, there are sanctions — 6 per cent of the revenue and, if they continue, banned from operating in Europe,” Breton said regarding the Digital Services Act. The EU also introduced the Digital Markets Act in March, the Times reported.

The regulations drew praise from Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama.

Breton and Twitter did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.