Is Musk Ready to Pay the Price?

Following the European Commission’s demand to show how X (Twitter) is fighting off rampant disinformation on the platform, and Musk’s cheeky exchange with commissioner Thierry Breton that ended with his writing “merci beaucoup”, the famous entrepreneur is said to be upset.

Mainly with the fact that the authorities are questioning his methods, including when it comes to what information appears on X alongside his personal role in giving the limelight to accounts that spread narratives often proved to be false. Such as WarMonitor, an account boosted by Musk, that has systematically spread falsehoods about Russia-Ukraine and HAMAS-Israel war.

To that end, the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public published a research piece where it says that  influential but unreliable accounts, some of which have been promoted by Elon Musk, are dominating the flow of news on X around the Israel-Hamas war and easily outpacing established mainstream news outlets.

This will likely be heeded by the EU authorities who are carrying out an investigation of X’s adherence to the Digital Services Act. 

Now the big question is whether Musk will indeed take a decision to block access to X in the EU? 

Several days ago the media reported that Musk is growing increasingly frustrated with the EU’s attempts to regulate his business and may choose to make X unavailable in the EU as a result.

The answer of course depends on the outcome of the EU’s ongoing investigation. Last week, the Union said that it received a response from X, with the platform now offering to report tweets in line with the Digital Services Act. 

However, judging by the fact that disinformation is as rampant as ever on X, with the only response being the introduction of community notes, a tool where people write context of certain situations, the state-of-affairs looks grave.

The fact that some influential Twitter handles are now behaving in the 1930s Nazi style of compiling lists of the Jewish people is only adding fans to the flames.

The European Commission has already made it clear that these violations could result in financial penalties up to 6% of the company’s revenue. This likely translates into billions of dollars. But it could be even worse if he chooses to block the EU region given that many users there are paying for services like the blue check mark.

So is Musk ready to pay the price? And if so, which? 

Previously, GN Crypto shed light on TruthGPT: Elon Musk's Vision – Crypto, AI, or Dream.