The US-based tech billionaire is engaged in a bitter spat with the bloc after his platform X was fined for lack of “transparency”
Tech mogul Elon Musk has labelled the EU a new iteration of Nazi Germany following a massive fine imposed by the bloc on his social media platform X.
Musk flung a series of fiery messages at the EU over the weekend after it fined X some €120 million ($163 million) for “breaching its transparency obligations” under the 2022 Digital Services Act, which enforces standards for content moderation and accountability.
The EU Commission deemed the platform’s advertising not transparent enough and its blue checkmark “verified account” system to be deceptive.
Musk reposted a message reading “The Fourth Reich,” accompanied by an image of the EU flag peeling off and exposing the flag of Nazi Germany. “Pretty much,” Musk commented.
Earlier, Musk branded the EU a “bureaucratic monster,” claiming its leadership has been “slowly smothering Europe to death.” The billionaire, who has repeatedly accused the EU of excessive regulation, called for the dissolution of the bloc altogether.
“The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries so that governments can better represent their people,” he wrote.
Musk has been backed by top US officials, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemning the EU fine as an “attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.”
“The days of censoring Americans online are over,” he stated.
US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder has condemned the bloc’s move as well, stating that Washington “opposes censorship and will challenge burdensome regulations that target US companies abroad.”
The EU is standing by the ruling however, with Commission Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy Henna Virkkunen signaling that only Musk’s platform itself was to blame for the fine and that “deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU.”
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