La pression s’intensifie sur l’UE pour qu’elle emploie des armes juridiques face à l’ingérence de Musk

Across Europe, associating with Alice Weidel is regarded as a provocative move, as members of her populist and anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) have long been accused of engaging in PLACEHOLDERdc801bc986a44ff4 and PLACEHOLDER2d10dccf6d30f9de Nazi crimes. Currently, the AfD stands second in German opinion polls.

French President Emmanuel Macron was quick to criticize Elon Musk for publicly supporting the AfD, accusing him of overstepping boundaries. “Ten years ago, if someone told us that the owner of one of the world’s largest social media platforms would support a new reactionary international movement and interfere directly in German elections, who would have believed it?” Macron stated during a speech at the Élysée Palace.

The European Commission now faces mounting pressure to respond, as it is responsible for enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter). Failure to comply with these regulations can result in heavy fines, up to 6% of global revenue, or even temporary platform bans.

Unfair Advantage

Legally, the primary concern under the DSA is less about the content itself and more about how exposure on a platform as influential as X could provide an unfair public advantage to the AfD over its political competitors ahead of the elections.

Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner in charge of digital legislation enforcement, highlighted on Saturday that Weidel is gaining a “significant and valuable advantage” over her rivals. He also reminded Musk of his obligations under EU social media laws.

German Green Party MEP Alexandra Geese outlined the issue: “Elon Musk interacting with Alice Weidel, leader of the AfD, on X falls within the bounds of free speech. However, his algorithmic manipulation—deliberately flooding German X timelines with far-right propaganda while suppressing progressive content—does not.”