Elon Musk is “in for a block wall” from the European Union if his changes are in contravention of the bloc’s rules, Fine Gael MEP Deirdre Clune has said.
The MEP said Mr Musk, the billionaire new owner of Twitter, “cannot act as he has stated” regarding changes to the platform because he will “need to follow what is stated” in the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
Speaking to journalists in Brussels, Ms Clune said Mr Musk could “flex his muscles in the US but the legislation will be pointed out to him from this side”.
She echoed similar comments made by EU Commission officials Thierry Breton and Margrethe Vestager, who were responsible for bringing in the DSA legislation.
When Mr Musk tweeted that “the bird is freed” at the time of his purchase of Twitter, referring to the Twitter’s bird logo, Mr Breton, the commissioner for the internal market, replied: “In Europe, the bird will fly by our EU rules.”
Ms Clune said Mr Musk’s comments about planned changes to Twitter were “a challenge” to the EU and the DSA, which aims to create a “safer digital space” that protects “the fundamental rights of all users”, including by forcing tech companies to remove posts considered illegal in the countries where the posts are appearing.
Speaking more broadly about lay-offs in the tech sector, including at Facebook parent company Meta, Ms Clune said the implications for Ireland were “not huge”.
“There is a strong tech presence in Ireland. It’s very important to our educated workforce, but tech isn’t all we’re dependent on. It’s not disastrous. We have pharmaceuticals, and we are diversified, but I don’t want to belittle how terrible it is for people to have lost their jobs,” she said.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael MEP Colm Markey called for increased support for indigenous start-ups to ensure Ireland’s tech sector is not exposed to further global risks.
Speaking from Brussels, the Midlands-North-West MEP said finding talent is “one of the biggest difficulties facing Irish start-ups” and the recent lay-offs by multinationals “opens up an opportunity for the indigenous sector”.
“However, we must address a range of other challenges. Recent research from both Scale Ireland and IBEC revealed that red tape is putting many businesses off applying for key state schemes. This needs urgent attention if we are to retain and grow employment in the sector,” he said.
“Of course, we need to continue to attract foreign direct investment, but equal attention should be given to home grown companies.”
