EU pauses probe into Elon Musk's X amid trade U.S. talks

The European Commission has temporarily paused one of its investigations into Elon Musk's social media platform X, amidst ongoing trade negotiations with the United States. This decision follows complaints from major U.S. tech companies, arguing that the EU's regulations infringe on their freedom of speech. The EU has several investigations into X under the Digital Services Act (DSA), including potential violations of transparency rules and content moderation. While the Commission insists the investigations are independent of trade talks, political sensitivities surrounding the U.S. negotiations have influenced the timing. Concerns also exist regarding X's AI chatbot Grok and potential antisemitic outputs. France has separately launched a criminal investigation into X, focusing on accusations of political interference and data extraction. Additionally, nine EU civil society organizations have filed complaints against X for allegedly using sensitive user data to target advertisements, violating DSA regulations. Companies violating the DSA could face fines up to 6% of their global turnover, or even a ban from operating in Europe.