EU’s Breton To Meet Musk On Free Speech & Chips

EU industry chief Thierry Breton will meet Tesla boss Elon Musk in Texas on Monday to discuss global supply chain issues and the bloc’s newly agreed rules requiring tech giants to do more to police online content, reported Reuters.

The meeting comes weeks after the world’s richest man clinched a deal to buy social media company Twitter for $44 billion in cash.

Related: Musk’s $44 Billion Twitter Buyout Under Antitrust Review

The two will meet in Austin, where the new headquarters for Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla is located.

“Tech and supply chains will be high on the agenda at Tesla with Elon Musk,” Terence Zakka, spokesman for Breton, said in an email.

“Free speech will also be on the menu between Thierry Breton and Elon Musk. So will EU regulation. Expect exchange on the Digital Services Act and how ‘new’ Twitter will play by European rules,” he said.

Musk secured the deal to buy Twitter last month with a pledge to revitalise the company and expand the number of users by cracking down on spam bots and reducing the amount of moderation to facilitate more “free speech”.

The billionaire’s comments prompted a rejoinder from Breton that Twitter must comply with new EU rules known as the Digital Services Act tackling illegal online content.