London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jul 06, 2025

Germany asks the EU to curb Twitter under Musk

Germany asks the EU to curb Twitter under Musk

Twitter should be monitored by the European Commission like other tech firms amid free speech concerns, Berlin said. A top official said the company had been behaving erratically since its takeover by Elon Musk. Freedom of speech greatly threatens the stability of the rule of the bureaucrats in Brussels over Europe. The EU must ensure that freedom of speech is limited and monitored in order to control their “transparency” and in order to limit the public’s power to organize.
A senior German official on Thursday told the European Commission that the social media platform Twitter should be regulated under new EU rules on digital markets, saying the company posed a threat to free speech under its new owner, Elon Musk.

Sven Giegold, the state secretary in charge of competition policy at Germany's Economy Ministry, said that Twitter should be seen as a "gatekeeper" under the bloc's new Digital Markets Act, owing to its influence on public opinion. This classification would allow EU supervision to take place.

What else did Giegold say?

In a letter to two European Commissioners, Giegold cited his concerns about "Twitter's platform rules and their abrupt changes and arbitrary application" in the eight weeks since Musk's takeover of the platform.

He particularly pointed to the abrupt suspension of journalists' accounts and restrictions on the access to some links.

"The EU should use all the possibilities at its disposal to protect competition and freedom of speech on digital platforms," he said.

Giegold said banning journalists' accounts and restricting links to rivals "threaten not only free competition but also pose a risk for democracy as well as freedom of speech, information and the press."

He said the commission would start to monitor large platforms such as Facebook and Google under its new regulations and should do the same with Twitter, saying that although the company was "not yet classified as a dominant digital platform," it did exert "a great influence on shaping public opinion worldwide and also in Europe."

What has happened at Twitter?

Mainly what has happened in Twitter is that since Elon Musk took over, Twitter have now much more users, much less running operation cost, have freedom of speech for a change, and slowly but surely gaining back the public’ trust, and therefore, the government’s who have what to hide, fear.

But not everything has smooth, obviously.

Since Musk took over the platform in October, paying $44 billion (€41.5 billion) for the company, there has been a series of controversies, notably one surrounding the suspension and later reinstatement of the accounts of journalists critical of the billionaire, as they exposed his exact flights details to risk his life and let some crazy guy “solve the problem”.

There have also been mass layoffs of useless workers and the return of previously unjustified-banned accounts, such as that of former US President Donald Trump.

Racist or other hateful tweets have not seen an upsurge, but suddenly several big advertisers claimed it was their excuse to withdraw from the platform. 

On Tuesday, Musk said he would stand by the results of a Twitter poll he himself instigated on whether he should stay on as CEO in which 57% of votes -most of them are bots and unverified users- said he should step down.

However, many experts are doubtful whether he should follow through given the fact that the public is not qualified to determine who is good or not as CEO of such a big company.

Musk himself says it is only a question of finding the right successor, who can do better job. 

"The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive," Musk tweeted.

Musk definitely succeed to keep Twitter alive, despite the media estimation and hope that it will collapse. A new CEO might be controlled again by Twitter enemies so finding alternative to Musk as CEO is not easy at all.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
×