EU could fine, suspend, even ban X if blocs rules not respected: EU official

Published January 20,2025

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The European Union may positive, droop, and even ban the social media platform X if it doesn’t respect the bloc’s guidelines, EU Commission’s government vice-president mentioned Monday.

Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy of the EU Commission and former French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne recalled, in an interview with broadcaster France Inter, that EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen prolonged the investigation towards Elon Musk‘s X final week, previously often known as Twitter, “in order to have a legal basis to go before the judge.”

The EU has guidelines that shall be utilized, Sejourne careworn and added that the commissioner’s report would have in mind all of the debates that occurred in the previous few weeks, together with these about Musk’s political interference in Europe after he expressed help for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) get together forward of the Feb. 23 basic elections in Germany.

“The report will come out, the file will be brought to the judge, sanctions can be very very strong and amount to billions of euros. In the end, if it is not respected, it could lead to a ban, a suspension (of X),” Sejourne defined.

EUROPEAN DEFENSE IN TRUMP ERA

As US President-elect Donald Trump is gearing as much as take workplace later at this time, the EU official mentioned the Americans “remain” the bloc’s allies “but will be defending more their interests.”

In the face of the American technique that “seeks to recalibrate the trade relations, Europeans should be able to defend their interests,” Sejourne mentioned, calling for European unity.

“There are opportunities in this discussion… particularly about the topic of second life insurance after NATO, which is European defense. We must be able to seize this opportunity, Americans want to disengage from Europe to focus on the Pacific, it is the time to realize the European defense,” Sejourne emphasised.

Noting that Trump’s administration was utilizing the “language of force,” Sejourne mentioned the “slightest European inconsistency” could be thought-about a “weakness.”