Elon Musk escalated a spat Saturday with the ex-EU digital chief Thierry Breton, describing him as a “tyrant of Europe” as the two men traded barbs online.
An ally of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, the tech billionaire has long criticised the European Union’s rules regulating the digital space, accusing Brussels of censorship. This week Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg echoed that charge.
Mr. Musk has recently angered Europe with repeated insults of the continent’s leaders and his open support for the far-right German AfD party ahead of elections next month.
His latest outburst against Breton came after he said Europe could take action to avoid interference in elections.
An account shared an excerpt of Mr. Breton’s interview with French broadcaster BFMTV/RMC claiming he said “the EU has mechanisms to nullify a potential election victory of the AfD”, prompting Musk to rail at what he termed “the astounding absurdity of Thierry Breton as tyrant of Europe.”
Breton rejected the claim in an X post.
“Tyrant of Europe? Wow! But No Elon Musk: the EU has NO mechanism to nullify any election anywhere in EU. Not at all what is said in the video below related only to the application of the DSA and its moderation obligations. Lost in translation… or another fake news?”
The DSA is the landmark EU’s Digital Services Act, which demands platforms clamp down on illegal content online.
In Thursday’s interview, Breton said Europe should “keep our cool and enforce our laws in Europe when they risk being circumvented and when they can, if not enforced, lead to interference.
“We did it in Romania and we will obviously have to do it if it is necessary in Germany,” he said.
The EU last month opened a probe into TikTok under the DSA, following allegations the platform was used by Russia to sway the result of Romania’s presidential election, later annulled by a top Romanian court.
European regulators have also been probing X since December 2023, but Musk’s close ties to Trump have raised questions about how the EU will handle his platform and its suspected DSA violations, which could lead to fines.
Published – January 12, 2025 03:03 am IST
