EU Warns Musk: “We Will Shut Down X in Europe”

Elon Musk has officially become a new adversary of the European Union. Why? Because of his commitment to ensuring freedom of speech—a value that, under certain circumstances, can seem problematic. Prior to airing an interview with Donald Trump on his platform X, the South African entrepreneur received a warning from the European Commission. A letter, signed by Thierry Breton, emphasized the need to comply with the obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) concerning a U.S. election campaign event. Some view this as an unprecedented move, even a direct interference by Brussels in American elections. But it doesn’t stop there; the EU has escalated its stance with direct threats, including the potential shutdown of X.

Breton’s attempt to censure Musk was naturally backed by Sandro Gozi, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) elected in France with Emmanuel Macron’s party. Gozi, who is the secretary of the European Democratic Party and part of the presidency of the Renew Europe group in Strasbourg, didn’t hold back in an interview with Repubblica. He stated that if Musk fails to comply with EU digital service regulations, the EU Commission would request European operators to block X, or in the most extreme scenario, completely dismantle the platform within the EU. This is seen by some as blatant blackmail.

Gozi insists that Musk must recognize European laws, particularly the DSA, given that a third of X’s users are in Europe. The Italian politician, who is highly regarded in France, staunchly defends Breton’s warnings, reminding that Renew had already called for a strong response to the aggressive posts from “Mister X” in the UK. Gozi dismisses accusations of censorship, arguing that freedom of expression is not at stake. This seems ironic—hopefully a joke—considering that European officials would likely not have taken the same stance if Kamala Harris had been interviewed instead of Donald Trump. The issue here is clearly Musk’s choice of guest, not the spread of misinformation. An alternative interpretation? Breton might be a prophet, since only someone who can foresee the future would speak of hoaxes so confidently.

X is under attack by the EU, and Musk reveals they are asking for censorship. The European accusation is that Musk wields too much power without sufficient transparency. The DSA outlines the possibility of regular fines of up to 5% of average daily global turnover for each day of non-compliance with corrective actions. In more severe cases, this could even lead to the closure of the platform or a request for telecom operators to block access to the site. Gozi reiterates: freedom of expression has nothing to do with it. No further explanation is necessary—the situation is self-explanatory.