Elon Musk to block X in EU just to avoid fixing the misinformation problem?

A report has claimed that Elon Musk’s X might exit Europe and block users in that region from accessing it, instead of complying with the EU’s Digital Services Act and removing the misinformation.

Elon Musk can block X in Europe, a report says. (Bloomberg)

Billionaire Elon Musk has gained a reputation for ruling X (formerly Twitter) with an iron fist. Ever since he took over, he has ordered massive layoffs, changed the company name and logo, changed how blue ticks work, and is now heavily pushing the X Premium Subscriptions to its user base. Not all decisions made by him have proven to be popular, but Musk continues to dominate the headlines with his often quirky decisions that are implemented post haste. However, a new report has claimed what could be the most controversial decision by the billionaire. It appears that Musk might block X in Europe.

According to a report by Business Insider, Musk has suggested that X could stop being accessible in Europe over the compliance pressure from the EU's Digital Services Act, a new regulation enacted by the bloc. The regulation would push Musk to tighten its data safety measures and improve its efforts to stop misinformation on the platform. However, Musk has apparently said that an easier solution would be to remove the app's availability in the region or simply block users from Europe, the report quoted unnamed people as saying.

Musk could choose leaving Europe over fixing misinformation

Misinformation and misleading information has become a big issue for X in recent years. While the spreading of fake news and propaganda has been something the platform has always come under fire for, many experts feel it has reached unprecedented levels during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

According to a report by Wired, a clip from a video game went viral on the platform after it was passed as footage from Israel bombing Hamas hideouts. Similarly, a now-deleted post of fireworks celebrations in Algeria was posted with pictures of Israel attacking Hamas.

A report by The Washington Post also highlights that Musk himself was “directing users to two sources of “news” which had previously been responsible for hoax posts about an explosion near the White House”.

With misinformation promoting hate and disharmony between the two sides and escalating the situation on the platform, some even believe that this can have a real-life impact. Considering the large-scale issue, if the reports of Musk considering exiting Europe are true, it does ring alarm bells. Perhaps, the bells have already started tolling for X in Europe.