Elon Musk receives warning from European Commission before interview with Trump to avoid hate speech on X.

• On Monday, Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner, cautioned Elon Musk, the owner of X, that the company could face penalties if it fails to address the dissemination of unlawful content.
• Breton mentioned the riots in the U.K. caused by false information about a fatal stabbing attack and Trump's upcoming conversation with Musk.
• Breton cautioned Musk that the EU was prepared to employ all available measures under the Digital Services Act to safeguard EU citizens from "serious harm."

Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino of X Corp. were warned by the European Commission on Monday that the company could face penalties and restrictions in Europe if it fails to address the spread of illegal content, including incitements to violence and hate speech, on its social media platform.

Thierry Breton, European commissioner for the internal market, wrote in a letter posted on X Monday that he is addressing the planned broadcast on your platform X of a live conversation between a US presidential candidate and yourself, which will also be accessible to users in the EU in the context of recent events in the United Kingdom.

Breton stated that we are tracking the potential risks in the EU resulting from the spread of content that could incite violence, hate, and racism in relation to significant political or societal events worldwide, including discussions and interviews during elections.

He urged me to promptly ensure the effectiveness of my systems and to report measures taken to his team.

After receiving the letter, Yaccarino characterized it as an unprecedented attempt to apply a European law to political activities in the US.

Yaccarino wrote on X that it patronizes European citizens, implying they are unable to comprehend a conversation and make their own decisions.

On Monday evening, Donald Trump will be hosted by Elon Musk, who is both CEO of and the founder of Spaces, the streaming platform of X.

The Spaces session, which is billed as an unscripted conversation by Musk, will be one of the few campaign events Trump does this week. Despite his efforts to regain his footing, the former president is still facing a competitive race against Vice President Kamala Harris.

The commissioner reminded Musk of the due diligence obligations outlined in the Digital Services Act (DSA) — legislation that requires social networks and streaming media platforms to prevent the spread of hate speech and other harmful content on their platforms — during an investigation into X's potential violations of the law.

Breton cautioned Musk that the EU was prepared to "fully utilize our resources" to safeguard EU citizens from "severe injury."

X Corp. has 300 million users worldwide, with one third of them located in the EU, making it a "Very Large Online Platform" subject to European laws, including the Digital Services Act, according to Breton.

The recent riots in the U.K. were triggered by false information spread on social media platforms, including X, which wrongly accused an asylum seeker of carrying out attacks on children at a dance class in an English town.

After that, Musk has made a series of inflammatory comments regarding the situation in the U.K. On one occasion, he suggested that the violence occurring on British streets could potentially lead to a civil war, stating: "Civil war is inevitable."

The U.K. Prime Minister's spokesperson condemned Musk's remarks last week, stating that there is no justification for such comments.

Elon Musk posted a fake headline on Twitter that appeared to be from "The Telegraph" and stated that the U.K. was constructing "detainment camps" on the Falkland Islands for rioters.

The image, posted by Ashlea Simon, a co-leader of the far-right Britain First party, has been deleted by him.

Officials in the U.K. had already been critical of Musk before the disinformation about the stabbings. In an interview with the Times newspaper last week, technology minister Peter Kyle stated that Musk is "accountable to no one" and that dealing with platforms like his can be like negotiating with foreign governments "due to their immense scale and scope."

The ongoing investigation by the European Union's executive arm, the commission, assesses whether X is in breach of the DSA.

Breton stated that the EU cannot exclude the possibility of spillovers from illegal content being distributed on X, even if it occurs in another jurisdiction's affairs.

The DSA allows the EU to implement interim measures such as modifying recommender systems, monitoring specific keywords or hashtags, or issuing orders to stop or rectify alleged violations.

The DSA allows the Commission to impose fines of up to 6% of a company's worldwide annual revenues if they violate the agreement.

Previously, this commission has accused X of using deceptive tactics to push people to use or pay for certain products and services, and has called for greater advertising transparency and data access for researchers.