The European Union threatened Elon Musk with sanctions on Friday after Twitter removed several journalists reporting on him and the social media company.
In a tweet, Vera Jourova, the European Commission’s vice president for values and transparency, expressed concern about the “arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter.”
Late Thursday, Twitter abruptly suspended several high-profile journalists covering him, including news correspondent Donie O’Sullivan and New York Times reporter Ryan Mac.
He claimed the journalists violated Twitter’s policy on “doxxing,” or disclosing personally identifiable information.
It comes after Twitter suspended the account @ElonJet, which tracked the location of Musk’s private jet using publicly available flight data.
Musk is now facing possible EU sanctions.
“The EU’s Digital Services Act requires media freedom and fundamental rights to be respected,” Jourova said. “This is reinforced by our #MediaFreedomAct, which @elonmusk should be aware of.”
“Red lines exist. And soon, sanctions,” she added.
Jourova did not provide any additional information about the sanctions. Companies that violate the EU’s Digital Services Act face fines of up to 6% of their global annual revenues.
The DSA, which went into effect on November 16, requires large platforms to reduce online harms, implement user rights protections, and issue transparency reports.
By February 2023, Big Tech platforms must report the number of active end users to the Commission. After the bloc reviews the numbers, they will have four months to comply with the rules.
Musk has been the CEO of Twitter since October, after purchasing the company for $44 billion.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has irritated politicians and civil liberties activists by reactivating banned users’ accounts, including former US President Donald Trump, and laying off thousands of Twitter employees.
