Brussels:

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 US 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.

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 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.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

France on Wednesday (January 8, 2025) urged the European Commission to protect its member states with “the greatest firmness” against interference in political debate particularly from the billionaire owner of social media platform X, Elon Musk.

“Either the European Commission applies with the greatest firmness the laws that we have given ourselves to protect our public space, or it does not do so and then it will have to agree to give back the capacity to do so to the EU member states,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio.

“We have to wake up,” he said.

Asked whether X could be banned in Europe, Mr. Barrot replied that such a mechanism to close a platform “is laid out in our laws”.

Mr. Musk, who has secured unprecedented influence thanks to his proximity to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, is set for a role in Mr. Trump’s administration.

He has provoked fury across Europe with a string of attacks on the continent’s leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“When you take part in a government or aspire to take part in one, your opinions have a rather special value,” Mr. Barrot said.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron accused Mr. Musk of intervening in elections, including Germany’s snap legislative polls next month.

“Ten years ago, who could have imagined it if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections, including in Germany,” Mr. Macron said in a speech to French Ambassadors.