The European Union has tried (and so far failed) to get Musk and social media platform X to conform to its policies. Elon Musk responded to a statement by Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner who oversees compliance of the bloc’s Digital Service Act (DSA), with a brutal tropic thunder meme.
The meme in question is from the raunchy comedy Tropic Thunder, in which Tom Cruise’s character shouts, “Take a big step back AND LITERALLY F— YOUR OWN FACE!”.
Based on his response, it’s safe to say the EU’s efforts to get Musk and X to comply with their DSA have been unsuccessful.
This is not the first time Elon Musk used foul language against adversaries
This is not the first time Elon Musk has used foul language in addressing those who have attempted to get him to comply to policies.
Earlier, in an incident in which Musk was found to have endorsed antisemitic conspiracy on his platform, X, advertisers paused their services on the platform.
Consequently, Elon Musk responded:
“If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money? Go f- yourself.”
This strategy only further alienated advertisers from the social media platform.
The EU is going after Elon Musk and X
Elon Musk and X are at odds with the European Union, as complying with the DSA would result in negative revenue for X.
If the platform’s noncompliance is confirmed, the EU could impose penalties of 6 percent of annual turnover on Musk and X.
There are serious concerns from the European bloc that X has already broken its online policies. In July, the EU reported it had already detected breaches to the DSA by the social media platform. The situation has only worsened following riots in the UK.
The EU Commission has said that disinformation on Elon Musk’s X, relating to the violent riots, might be factored in the DSA act.
What sparked Musk’s anger was an open letter from the EU
Prior to Elon Musk’s conversation with former President Donald Trump on X, Thierry Breton sent an open letter to the billionaire.
Industry analysts have described the open letter posted by Breton as “a draft” in which he explains to Musk that he is “risking the chance of coming across censorship” on X. This was also the post that prompted Elon Musk’s meme-driven response to the EU.
This letter proved to be a flawed EU reminder to Musk and X of some of the laws to which adherence is mandated under the DSA.
There is a real threat that the EU may choose to shut down X on the European market if the company and Musk continue to defy DSA policies. This would result in lack of access to the social media platform for 450 million people.
