EU industry chief Thierry Breton made the
threat during a video meeting with Musk on Wednesday, the FT reported, citing
people with knowledge of the conversation.
Breton told Musk he must adhere to a
checklist of rules, including ditching an "arbitrary" approach to
reinstating banned users and agreeing to an "extensive independent
audit" of the platform by next year, according to the report.
Twitter and the EU did not immediately
respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Breton had previously urged Musk to comply
with landmark EU rules against online hate speech and disinformation. The
European Commission's justice chief Didier Reynders had also voiced similar
comments.
Reuters reported in October that Elon Musk
had assured the European Commission that Twitter will continue to abide by
tough European rules on illegal online content policing now the social network
has passed under his ownership.
The assurances from Musk appeared to
suggest a pragmatic attitude from the CEO of electric car maker Tesla, who has
previously expressed his desire to see Twitter have fewer limits on content
that can be posted.
In May this year, EU industry chief Thierry
Breton met Musk in Texas and the two signalled agreement on EU digital media
regulation ahead of Musk's purchase of Twitter.
The previous meeting came weeks after the
world's richest man clinched a deal to buy the social media company for $44
billion in cash.
In a video with the two men posted on
Twitter by Breton, the EU official tells Musk that he explained the Digital
Services Act to Musk. "It fits pretty well with what you think we should
do," Breton tells Musk in a tweet that included the hashtag #DSA.
"I think it's exactly aligned with my
thinking," Musk responds.
The two did not go into detail on the new
law, which levies hefty fines on companies if they do not control illegal
content. The rules ban advertising aimed at children or based on religion,
gender, race, and political opinions, for example. © Reuters