Brussels wants to see if Musk breaks EU law in far-right live stream – POLITICO

The commission has not yet imposed any of its potential DSA sanctions. Fines can go up to 6 percent of global annual revenue, and regulators can order companies found to have violated it to take steps to stop any problems. Officials can also put a company on alert via “an extended monitoring period to ensure compliance” and issue daily fines until they comply.

Boost the algorithm

The EU’s digital enforcers have already said their focus is on whether Musk bends the X algorithm in his favor, such as by boosting his content or potentially by giving the AfD leader a bigger platform and downgrading content from his rivals. Doing so would be considered an unfair advantage and could be seen as a breach of EU social media law.

“How much is (it) or will it be boosted? That’s what the Commission will look at,” Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier told reporters on Monday.

The commission will also be watching closely to see how X respects the DSA, a law that requires platforms to remove illegal content and act against disinformation, and that requires them to map and deal with threats to elections and public discourse.

X is such a large platform that it is under the direct supervision of the EU’s DG CONNECT digital department. The social media platform was the first target of the DSA in December 2023, with an investigation escalating to charges in July for misleading users, lack of transparency and failure to share some public data.

Regnier told POLITICO that the commission’s DSA enforcement team could decide to expand the ongoing investigation and send new requests to access information based on how the algorithm handled the AfD live stream.