Elon Musk’s decision to host German far-right leader Alice Weidel live on X has angered European Union leaders and lawmakers, who on Monday called on Brussels to use its legal power to rein in the billionaire tech mogul.

In response, the European Commission said the SpaceX founder and senior official in the incoming Trump administration could indeed find himself in a legal bind under the terms of the EU’s new digital handbook, depending on the extent to which the live broadcast he will do on Thursday, will boost Weidel against her rivals ahead of Germany’s February 23 election.

Across Europe, Musk’s collaboration with Weidel is seen as an “inflammatory” move, as members of the populist and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have for years been accused of “glamourizing” and “demeaning” the Nazis. crimes. And the AfD currently holds the second place on polls.

French President Emmanuel Macron was quick to accuse Musk of screwing it up with his support for the AfD. “Ten years ago, who could have imagined that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reactionary movement and directly interfere in elections, including in Germany”he said in a speech at the Elysee Palace.

As Politico reports, the European Commission is now under pressure to react, given that it is responsible for enforcing Europe’s Digital Services Act, which controls social media platforms, including X, and threatens with fines reaching 6% of global turnover or even with a temporary ban in case of violation.

Unfair advantage

The main problem Musk would face legally is not so much the content as the extent to which exposure to a platform as large as X would give the AfD a unfair public advantage against his opponents before the elections.

Former EU digital enforcement chief Thierry Breton said on Saturday that Weidel will have a “significant and valuable advantage” against its competitors and reminded Musk to comply with his obligations under EU social media law.

The German Green MP, Alexandra Gies, said: “Elon Musk’s conversation with AfD leader Alice Weidel at X is covered by freedom of expression. His algorithmic manipulation, which deliberately floods German X timelines with far-right propaganda and drowns out progressive content, is not freedom of expression.”

When asked if Musk could unfairly boost Weidel’s political agenda with this livestream, Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said there is a special burden on very large platforms when it comes to presenting content that carries “electoral risks.” procedures”. “Amount [είναι] or will it strengthen? This is what the Commission will consider”he said, noting that Brussels has already been studying X’s compliance with the DSA (Digital Services Act) for more than a year.

Regnier added that the Commission, German regulators and X will meet on January 24 to discuss risks related to February’s elections.

Brussels has already faced enough problems with Musk. Thierry Breton himself was made into a meme by Musk in which he abusively referred to “c***”.

Political will

As Politico notes, prosecuting a major tech mogul would be difficult enough, but the EU’s headaches are compounded by the fact that in 13 days Musk will join the United States administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.

“Musk should be seen as representing the US president when betting against the leadership of major European states, allies until now”said former MEP and Stanford University fellow Marietz Sacké.

Quite simply, by threatening investigations or even a fine, the EU is now risking a major confrontation with the Washington administration.

“Whether the EU Commission chooses to act will depend on a combination of technicalities and political will,” said Felix Karte, senior fellow at Germany’s Mercator Foundation. “The question is essentially whether EU leaders are ready to choose confrontation with the Trump administration before it officially takes office”he notes.

Despite the political dimension, Carte argued that there could still be an answer to Musk.

“If this move by Musk creates public risks, such as enhancing illegal hate speech or undermining media pluralism, regulators could argue that X is not meeting its risk mitigation obligations under the DSA »he stated. In the European Parliament, some are also pushing Brussels to review whether Musk’s actions are legal under the DSA.

In a question addressed to Hena Virkunen, executive vice-president of the European Commission for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, German European lawmaker Damien Bosselager expressed concerns that Musk may be undermining the neutrality of the algorithm for his personal gain.

“What I’m trying to figure out is whether Musk is using a large information platform that he owns in ways that could reduce the free speech of others by hard-coding a multiplier into his own reach.” he explained to Politico.

And other MPs have raised concerns about Musk’s use of X for personal promotion, urging Brussels to investigate.

The burden of enforcing the law now falls to Virkunen, who took over after Breton resigned in the summer.

Breton had faced backlash from his colleagues in the EU executive after he wrote to Musk warning him of the potential consequences of supporting certain parties or individuals.

Breton may have left Brussels, but he didn’t shut up about Musk. Instead, he again warned both Weidel and Musk about the upcoming live broadcast, urging his platform to “fully respect all its obligations under our EU law”.