Elon Musk's Controversial Decisions Spark Global Reactions

Newly revealed documents show that trade officials in the Biden administration coordinated with European Union counterparts in shaping provisions of the EU's Digital Services Act, now being used to penalize U.S. tech companies, including Elon Musk's X.

According to a report by Breitbart News, documents from the Foundation for Freedom Online indicate that trade officials under the Biden administration worked with EU officials to craft statutes that have resulted in a $140 million fine against X for alleged noncompliance with the DSA.

The European Commission stated that X failed to provide disinformation researchers with broad access to platform data, a requirement under the DSA, marking the first fine levied under this new law. X has been given 60 days to submit a compliance plan or face additional daily penalties of up to 5 percent of its global revenue.

The DSA, which came into effect in 2022, establishes a regulatory framework for digital services across the EU, impacting foreign platforms providing services to EU users. The enforcement of these regulations highlights growing tensions between Brussels and U.S. tech companies.

The report suggests that the Digital Services Act was not solely a European initiative but rather a product of transatlantic cooperation, with shared policy priorities developed since the early years of the Biden administration.

Disinformation researchers, who compile lists of disfavored speech and advertisers, have gained central enforcement roles under the DSA, as indicated by these documents. The U.S. government under the previous administration also supported the inclusion of provisions related to platform data access, which have now led to the fine against X.