Arizona Republican lawmakers are pushing back against a European Union regulator who demanded that Elon Musk force his company, X, to comply with EU laws and censor his conversation with former President Donald Trump on Monday.
European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services Thierry Breton advised Musk that he must restrict “harmful content on his online platform ahead of his interview with former President Trump on Monday evening.”
In response, members of the Arizona House’s Committee on Municipal Oversight and Elections contacted Breton admonishing him for his overreach and attempt at censorship. The lawmakers also vowed to introduce the “Defend the Guard Act” next year “to ensure that Arizona’s sons and daughters are never asked to risk their lives for those that would do violence to our Constitution without an express Congressional declaration of war.”
Attorney and Arizona State Rep. Alex Kolodin wrote to Breton for the committee members:
Dear Commissioner Breton:
As members of the Arizona House’s committee on Municipal Oversight and Elections, we are deeply concerned by your letter dated August 12, 2024, wherein you threaten to take legal action against X/Twitter in an attempt to coerce them into censoring an interview between Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
Since you are not an American, perhaps you do not know that the Arizona and U.S. Constitutions consider the right to speak and to listen to be the most fundamental of all human rights.
This incident highlights the dictatorial and authoritarian nature of the European Union, its hostility to American liberty, and its disrespect for the right of Arizona voters to consume whatever political content we damn well please. Accordingly, we will be introducing the “Defend the Guard Act” next year to ensure that Arizona’s sons and daughters are never asked to risk their lives for those that would do violence to our Constitution without an express Congressional declaration of war.
For his part, Musk responded with the proverbial bird, sharing a meme with the caption, “To be honest, I really wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude & irresponsible!
To be honest, I really wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude & irresponsible! https://t.co/jL0GDW5QUx pic.twitter.com/XhUxCSGFNP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2024
The meme read, “Take a big step back and literally, fuck your own face!”
“As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU,” Breton wrote of the Musk-Trump interview. “Therefore, we are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.”
Breton attempted to threaten Musk, implying that X has due diligence obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires platforms like X to moderate illegal content and content that is deemed a risk to public security.
