Twitter boss Elon Musk should check his DMs.
The world’s richest man who recently bought the social media company is set to receive an invitation to come to the European Parliament in Brussels and explain himself, two Parliament officials told .
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola briefed top EU lawmakers in a closed-door meeting Thursday that she will invite Musk soon. The move comes at the request of lawmakers from the Liberal group Renew, a spokesperson for the group said.
The self-proclaimed free speech absolutist Musk bought the company and fired half of Twitter’s staff in the past weeks.
“There are sound reasons to suggest that the standards applied by Twitter until now, may be weakened, at a time when the fight against election interference, misinformation and hate speech is more important than ever,” wrote Liberal lawmaker Dita Charanzová (Czech) and Sophie in ‘t Veld (Dutch) in a letter to Metsola on November 8.
Lawmakers want Musk to show up in Brussels in person to hear about his plans and remind him of European laws governing technology.
Europe has some of the strictest privacy laws in the West. A new law to crack down on illegal content known as the Digital Services Act will also likely apply to Twitter as soon as the summer of 2023. Yet, it remains to be seen how European regulators will be able to hold Musk to account.
The European Parliament president doesn’t have the power to summon a company executive. In the past, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckeberg came to testify in Brussels in 2018 in a hearing that proved disappointing.
The invitation could be sent after November 24 when top European lawmakers will discuss details of the plan in a meeting, added a Parliament official.
