Finnish Commissioner Henna Virkkunen’s portfolio has put her at the center of events when the Finnish giants and EU regulation collide.
Rikhard Husu,
Veikko Eromäki
19:42•Updated 19:43
of the EU’s new digital commissioner Henna Virkkunen according to which the EU can set Elon Musk’s Significant fines and penalties for the X message service if the platform does not meet the Union’s requirements.
The technology billionaire Musk has caused confusion in the EU after criticizing power-hungry European politicians in recent weeks. Most recently, many were shocked in Germany yesterday, when Musk interviewed the vice president of the far-right AfD Alice Weidel in X.
Commissioner Virkkunen, who is responsible for the EU’s technological self-sufficiency, security and democracy, reminds that Musk and X must follow EU laws and rules just like everyone else.
– In Europe, everyone has freedom of speech and opinion. However, X has a special, future obligation under our law to assess and reduce systemic risks related to our election systems and public debate, says Virkkunen.
According to EU legislation, platforms must, among other things, ensure that certain political views are not favored at the expense of others. The starting point in Europe is that the network must be a fair and safe environment. According to Virkkunen, all platforms have their challenges in this regard.
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According to Virkkusen, this is not the case. He reminds that X is already the subject of an EU investigation. Here we find out whether the platform meets EU requirements.
– If this is not the case, the result can be quite significant fines and punishments, says Virkkunen.
In addition, the commission will meet with representatives of the digital giants in January to discuss how they should act regarding possible election influence in the EU region.
Members of the EU Parliament have also criticized the EU for not making use of all the comprehensive powers that the EU’s digital services act gives it.
According to Virkkunen, it is true that the regulation is fairly new, and the big social media platforms only came under it in September.
– But very soon after that, the commission started these investigations to see how the platforms meet the requirements of the law, says Virkkunen.
Virkkunen assures that EU rules will be applied in all respects.