Lawmakers add pressure on Commission to investigate Musk’s attempt to influence EU

Members of the European Parliament are putting pressure on the European Commission to investigate attempts by Elon Musk to influence the German February election by organising a livestream with Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, on Thursday.

In a letter to EU Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, lawmaker Damian Boeselager (Germany/Greens), asked this week whether algorithmic use of Musk’s platform meets transparency requirements under the Digital Services Act (DSA).  

“There are indications that Musk hard-coded a multiplier into the code of X. This would mean undermining the neutrality of the algorithm for the benefit of his own reach,” Boeselager wrote.

He told Euronews that the Commission has not yet replied to his questions.

When asked today at a press briefing why there is no political response from the Commission, a spokesperson for the institution said that “that would mean fuelling the debate. That is a political choice, not to fuel the debate further.”

DSA investigation

Yesterday, a spokesperson for the EU executive said the institution will analyse whether the live conversation of the billionaire with the German far-right leader is in breach of the EU’s platform rules as part of an ongoing probe into X.

The Commission opened formal proceedings into X’s compliance with the DSA in December 2023 on suspected breaches in areas such as civic discourse. That probe has not been wrapped up.

“Nothing in the DSA prohibits any platform to have a live stream and to express personal opinions. What is very clear, what we will look at in the context of the current proceedings is whether the platform operates within the legal boundaries of the DSA and if it has assessed the risks,” the spokesperson said.

Lawmakers also question the advanced negotiations between Italy's government and Elon Musk's SpaceX regarding encryption systems for government communications via the Starlink satellite network.

Alexandra Geese (Germany/Greens), wrote on X: “Meloni‘s 1,5 bln deal with SpaceX hands over Italian government, defence and military communication to an unpredictable proto-fascist individual member of a future US government threatening Ukraine. European security is at stake! Where‘s the outcry?”

European leaders weighed in yesterday on Musk’s interventions into Europe’s politics.

“Ten years ago, who could have imagined it if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections, including in Germany,” France's President Emmanuel Macron told the annual gathering of French ambassadors yesterday, without naming Musk, but leaving little doubt over his target. 

“I find it worrying that a man with enormous access to social media and huge economic resources involves himself so directly in the internal affairs of other countries,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told NRK, the public broadcaster.