2024-08-12 18:07:00
Elon Musk promet un moment “very entertaining” with Donald Trump on X this Monday evening. The richest man in the world is due to interview the former American president, whom he openly supports, live on the social network he bought in 2022.
The interview, which is scheduled to air at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 a.m. in France), with the former president will be conducted “With no predetermined storyline, no limits on the topics covered and should be very entertaining!”Elon Musk wrote on X.
This interview should seek to revive the Republican candidate in the race for the White House, whose campaign has been struggling since the entry into the race of Kamala Harris on the Democratic side. A supporter of his cause, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX officially gave his support to the Republican candidate last month, just after the assassination attempt on the latter. Elon Musk regularly attacks Democrats on X, where he has 193 million subscribers, particularly on the subject of immigration.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump keep getting closer
Elon Musk has not always been a staunch defender of Donald Trump, with whom he has even publicly clashed. But the two men have grown closer in recent months. They met in March and have been speaking regularly on the phone since then, according to the Wall Street Journal. An advisory role for the tech mogul would even be under discussion if the former president regains the keys to the White House.
The South African native recently denied that he wanted to give tens of millions of dollars a month to the former president’s campaign, as the press had reported. He spoke of levels “much lower”. “I respect Elon Musk a lot, and he respects me”Donald Trump said last week. “Like me, he thinks that this country has big problems and is in great danger.”
The exchange between the two men, accustomed to outrageous and controversial statements, will be risky, on a platform accused of having become a mouthpiece for the radical right and lax in the face of disinformation. Previous similar interviews had also turned into fiascos, like the entry into the campaign of the former Republican candidate Ron DeSantis, announced on X and moderated by Elon Musk, but which had encountered technical problems.
Thierry Breton warns the owner of X
The European Commissioner for Digital Affairs, Thierry Breton, rightly warned Elon Musk on Monday, a few hours before his interview with Donald Trump, reminding him of the moderation obligations on X to avoid “amplification of dangerous content”.
In a letter addressed to the American billionaire and broadcast on X, Thierry Breton reminds him of his obligations under the new European legislation on digital services (DSA), stressing in particular that this imperative of moderation applies to all users of the social network, “including yourself”.
Pointing out that he controls “a platform with more than 300 million users worldwide, a third of whom are in Europe”the European Commissioner reminds the billionaire that he has a legal obligation to respect European law.
“My services and I will be extremely vigilant (…) regarding possible violations of the DSA and we will not hesitate to use all the tools at our disposal, including temporary measures, if this proves necessary to protect European citizens”continues Thierry Breton.
The DSA requires all online platforms to have a system in place to report problematic content and take action “promptly” to remove any illegal content or to make access to it impossible as soon as they become aware of it.
Tense exchanges between Elon Musk and Brussels
As a reminder, after buying Twitter, Elon Musk carried out a massive wave of layoffs which decimated the social network’s moderation teams.
In December, Brussels opened a formal investigation against unknown persons suspected of failing to meet their obligations in the fight against disinformation. The European Commission had in particular pointed out the low number of moderators and an ineffective system for reporting illegal content. The social network had then assured that it remained “committed to complying with regulations”.
In the spring of 2023, Thierry Breton went to San Francisco (California) to explain to Elon Musk, then the new owner of Twitter (later renamed X), the rules to be respected in Europe. “We are on the same wavelength”the American billionaire had said alongside the commissioner, all smiles.
Over the months, this apparent complicity has given way to often tense exchanges, via social networks. In July, Elon Musk accused Brussels of having tried to negotiate with him a « deal secret » pour “censoring content without saying so”.
“There never was – and never will be – a ‘secret deal’. With anyone.”had counter-attacked Thierry Breton. “It’s up to you whether or not you want to offer commitments… See you soon (in court or not)”.
(With AFP)
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