Elon Musk has fired off a foul-mouthed response to the European Union after a senior Brussels official threatened action against his social media site X.
The controversial billionaire, who is considered the richest person in the world, clashed with Thierry Breton, the bloc’s digital chief, ahead of his interview with Donald Trump.
In response to Breton’s warning about the spread of online hate and disinformation following the riots in the UK, Musk shared a meme full of swear words.
He posted an image from the movie Tropic Thunder and told the EU official: ‘Take a big step back and literally fuck your own face!’
The dispute came just hours before Musk streamed his chat with Trump on X, after the former US president returned to the site once known as Twitter.
Elon Musk has fired off a foul-mouthed response to the European Union after a senior Brussels official threatened action against his social media site X.
The controversial billionaire, who is considered the richest person in the world, clashed with the bloc’s digital leader Thierry Breton ahead of his interview with Donald Trump
The EU Internal Market Commissioner noted that the conversation between Musk and Trump would be accessible to around 100 million X users in the EU
In his warning to Mr Musk, Mr Breton referred to the recent riots in Britain. There are concerns that the disorder was fuelled by online disinformation on sites such as X
In his letter to Musk, Breton gave the South African-born businessman a stern warning ahead of his broadcast with the Republican presidential candidate.
The French politician and EU Commissioner for the Internal Market noted that the conversation between Musk and Trump would be accessible to around 100 million X users in the EU.
He pointed out that X is obliged under EU law to ensure that ‘all proportionate and effective measures are taken to prevent the dissemination of harmful content’.
“This is important against the backdrop of recent examples of civil unrest sparked by the spread of content promoting hatred, disorder, incitement to violence or certain instances of disinformation,” he added.
Mr Breton referred to the recent violent disorder in towns and cities across Britain following the stabbing in Southport.
There are concerns that the chaos has been fuelled in part by sites such as X, including the spread of misinformation online about the Southport suspect.
Musk recently clashed with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer amid chaos on the streets of the UK, claiming that “civil war is inevitable”.
He used the hashtag #TwoTierKeir on his social media platform, referring to allegations of “two-tier policing” in Britain.
Musk also turned red when he falsely claimed that the prime minister had set up detention camps for rioters in the Falkland Islands.
In his letter preceding the Trump interview, Breton told Musk: “Given that the relevant content is accessible to users in the EU and is also distributed in our jurisdiction, we cannot rule out potential spillover effects in the EU.
‘We therefore closely monitor the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that could incite violence, hatred and racism in connection with major political or social events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.
He warned that “any negative impact of illegal content on X in the EU” that can be attributed to the “ineffectiveness” of X’s content oversight will form part of the EU’s ongoing investigation into whether the site complies with Brussels’ rules.
“This is in line with what has already been done in the recent past, for example with regard to the impact and amplification of terrorist content or content inciting violence, hatred and racism in the EU, such as in the context of the recent riots in the UK,” he added.
In his letter to Musk, Breton gave the South African-born businessman a stern warning ahead of his broadcast with Trump.
Musk hit back at the EU official by sharing a meme full of swear words from the movie Tropic Thunder
In his conversation with Trump on X, Musk attempted to engage the former president in a discussion about “censorship” of Americans “from other countries”
Mr Breton said he would “not hesitate to make full use of our instruments, including by taking interim measures, should this be justified to protect EU citizens from serious harm”.
It was previously reported that Musk threatened to ban X during a video call with Breton in 2022 if the site did not adhere to strict content moderation rules.
In a response to Breton’s letter last night, which the EU official posted on X, Musk wrote: “Honestly, I actually wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude and irresponsible!”
He also shared the swear-filled meme from the movie Tropic Thunder.
Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO, said of Breton’s letter: “This is an unprecedented attempt to extend a law that was intended to apply in Europe to political activity in the U.S.
‘Furthermore, it is condescending towards European citizens, by suggesting that they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions.’
In his conversation with Trump on X, Musk attempted to engage the former president in a discussion about “censorship” of Americans “from other countries.”
Trump responded by saying the EU is trading “badly” with the US and criticized NATO for not spending enough on defense.
“That’s probably why they warned you,” he said. “They don’t treat our country right.”
Earlier, Trump’s X account had posted a series of tweets for the first time in nearly a year.
He was previously suspended from the site in January 2021 for the action, which the company said “was due to the risk of further incitement of violence” through his account.
It was a response to the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of the former president.