Solomon: Will Twitter Really Be Shut Down in Europe?
Elon Musk’s decision to withdraw Twitter from the European Union’s disinformation agreement raises the possibility of him shutting down the platform in Europe.
The EU’s Digital Services Act, which comes into effect in August, imposes certain requirements on social media sites operating in the EU. If Twitter fails to adhere to these rules, it could face a ban from the EU.
As Politico reported last week, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton expressed his intention to personally hold Musk accountable for complying with the bloc’s content regulations.
Then, on Monday, the situation dramatically escalated when France’s digital minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, issued a warning to Twitter, stating that if Musk does not take serious measures to address the increasing problem of “disinformation” on the platform, the entire EU could ban Twitter from its territory.
While Musk tests the waters by removing Twitter from a voluntary code of practice in Europe, he faces a growing threat that this move may ultimately result in the platform being shut down in the region.
Many media outlets, such as Business Insider, have conflated Musk’s withdrawal from the EU regulations with a voluntary departure from Europe. The former is easy — the latter is extremely complicated.
As someone who closely follows Twitter and Musk, I’m convinced that Musk realizes that if Twitter were to pull out of Europe, the platform would be doomed.
Twitter has close to 30 million active users in the EU. That’s not only 10 percent of Twitter’s overall user base; it’s a comparatively affluent segment that’s attractive to Twitter’s advertising base.
While Musk has until Aug. 25 to change his mind and align with these EU rules — targeting misinformation, illegal content and safer advertising — the ultimate question will be what happens if he chooses not to align or only partially accede to EU legislation.
The most likely scenario will be a negotiation between Twitter and EU regulators, as attorney John Lawlor suggests: “It is in the best interest of Twitter and legislators (not only in Europe but here in the United States) to find ways to work together. A European ban on Twitter or Twitter voluntarily leaving Europe should both be seen as the last resort.”
Negotiations only work when both parties feel they have something to gain by giving up something to the other side. It’s hard here to see where the win would be for European regulators.
They will either hold Musk to be on the correct side of the clearly drawn regulatory line, or they’ll make what could become a fatal exception to the legislation.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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