Musk has made major interventions to back far-right figures in Germany and Britain.
BRUSSELS — EU tech regulators are deepening their investigation of Elon Musk’s X after his repeated attacks on European governments, just days before Donald Trump takes office as U.S. president.
The European Commission on Friday announced it would add new steps to an investigation that kicked off in December 2023. That probe turned politically contentious as Musk, who will take key role in the incoming Trump administration, sided with European far-right parties, such as the German Alternative for Germany ahead of an election on Feb. 23.
Brussels faced pressure to investigate Musk’s compliance with EU social media law, the Digital Services Act, especially regarding a live-streamed chat Musk had with AfD leader Alice Weidel on Jan. 9.
It had already promised it would keep an eye on whether X’s algorithms gave that livestream a “boost.” Such a boost would give the AfD an unfair advantage in the election.
On Friday, only three days before Trump’s inauguration, the Commission detailed that it had taken three specific steps.
“These steps are completely independent from any political considerations or any specific events recently,” European Commission Spokesperson Thomas Regnier told reporters in Brussels on Friday.
X must clarify recent and future tweaks to its systems serving content. The deadline for information about past tweaks, which could tell the regulators more about whether the Weidel stream got a boost, is Feb. 15.
The company was also told to retain any info on future changes until the end of the year or until the Commission closes its probe.
It’s not the first time the European Commission has issued such a retention order. Chinese video app TikTok already faces a similar order over its role in last year’s Romanian elections.
Thirdly, the Commission also seeks access to X’s interfaces to gather more facts on how accounts go viral.
Last July, the European Commission issued a preliminary finding that X was in breach of the DSA. It said X deceived users with its blue mark verification program and the lack of advertising transparency and data access.
The Commission has said it’s still reviewing X’s responses to those allegations, responding to concerns that Musk’s U.S. government role held up a final decision. X could receive fines of up to 6 percent of its global turnover.
European lawmakers are set to question the European Commission on Tuesday over X’s compliance with the DSA.
X didn’t reply to a request for comment in time for publication.
