Brussels has reportedly summoned tech-billionaire Elon Musk to the European Parliament to discuss “hate speech” problems in relation to his social media network, Twitter.
Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, has reportedly invited Musk to Brussels to discuss “hate speech” concerns surrounding Twitter, reports published on Tuesday have claimed.
The transnational bloc has repeatedly come to blows with the on-and-off world’s richest man over his support for free speech on the platform, with authorities threatening to ban the billionaire’s social media company from the EU entirely should he refuse to censor content Brussels deems problematic.
According to a report by Politico, Metsola has now summoned Musk to appear in front of the European Parliament, inviting the tech mogul to appear in front of the body in order to publicly address issues to do with content moderation.
“Twitter plays a central role in the democratic life of the European Union and enable[s] the possibility for civil discourse,” Metsola reportedly wrote in a letter to Musk.
“Twitter should not unwittingly become a catalyst for hate speech, election interference and misinformation,” she continued before reportedly writing that she was “confident” that the Twitter owner would take her up on the invitation.
As of writing, Elon Musk does not appear to have publicly responded to the invitation.
Twitter could be banned from the EU if Elon Musk continues with his free speech reforms, a senior official within the bloc has reportedly said.https://t.co/nDG32Ou1rL
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 1, 2022
While the wording of Metsola’s letter to the billionaire was cordial, the recent history between Musk and the European Union indicates that any such visit to the parliament will likely not be a friendly affair.
Since assuming control of the company earlier this year, Musk has been under near-constant attack from EU authorities over his stated support for freedom of speech, with Eurocrats concerned that he may not end up being willing to censor content deemed to be problematic by the bloc.
In particular, Europan Commission’s Internal Market tsar, Thierry Breton, appears to have made it his business to put pressure on Musk, repeatedly threatening Twitter with hefty fines or even a possible EU-wide ban should it refuse to implement the bloc’s censorship demands.
Musk’s recent obsessions with banning accounts that break one of Twitter’s new and often short-lived rules also is not helping matters, with the EU often now using the very talking point of free speech to bludgeon Musk and his social media firm.
The most notable example of this came last Thursday after Twitter banned a number of high-profile journalists within the legacy media over accusations they broke platform rules over “doxxing”, which now includes disclosing someone’s location without permission.
Although the journalists were very quickly reinstated, the EU used the mass banning as an opportunity to attack Musk for failing to protect media freedom, despite the EU itself frequently pushing for measures that do just that.
“[The] EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our Media Freedom Act,” the European Commission’s Vera Jourova wrote on social media after the banning.
“Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon,” she went on to say.
German Politicians Demand Crackdown on Twitter After Elon Musk Takeover https://t.co/D8HJAJnrZv
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 7, 2022
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