(Reuters) – The German government will consider whether it still wants to have a presence on Twitter following the takeover by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, a spokesperson said on Friday.
Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of the influential social media platform on Thursday and signalled his desire to see the company have fewer limits on content that can be posted.
The chief executive of electric car maker Tesla Inc and self-described free speech absolutist has, however, also said he wants to prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber for hate and division.
Twitter is of particular importance because of its impact on the German public, the government spokesperson said.
“We will monitor possible changes to the platform over the coming weeks and months and then draw our own conclusions,” the spokesperson said, adding that his comments were not intended as a threat. “The conclusions could also be, to ask oneself the question, whether one still wants to have a presence on the platform or not.”
European regulators also reiterated past warnings that, under Musk’s leadership, Twitter must still abide by the region’s Digital Services Act, which levies hefty fines on companies if they do not control illegal content.
(Reporting by Matthias Williams, editing by Rachel More)
