EU Antitrust Violation Unlikely for Twitter

Elon Musk's recent decision to prevent users from advertising other social media accounts caused worry that it could be seen as anti-competitive and break European Union regulations. Ultimately, Twitter is probably too insignificant to be of any consequence.

Tommaso Valletti, a professor at Imperial College London and the former chief economist at the European Commission, believes that Twitter is unlikely to face any repercussions in Europe. He stated that exclusionary practices, which are a violation of antitrust law, would only be applicable if the company was dominant.

On Sunday, Twitter declared a new rule that it would remove any accounts or posts that advertised other social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon. This caused some users, including venture capitalist Paul Graham, to be suspended after he tweeted a link to his Mastodon account. However, Twitter soon reversed their decision and deleted all mentions of the policy.

The European Union has recently implemented new regulations that prohibit companies from favoring themselves. On the surface, Twitter would not be subject to these rules. The Digital Markets Act has designated certain companies as "gatekeepers" if they meet certain criteria. This includes having 45 million users in the EU, an annual turnover of at least €7.5 billion within the EU in the past three years, or an average market valuation of at least €75 billion in the previous year.

Twitter's financial situation does not meet the criteria to be considered a gatekeeper, however, the European Commission is facing increasing pressure to label Twitter as one after conducting a "qualitative assessment".

Andreas Schwab, the lead author of the DMA in the European Parliament, stated that the European Commission is facing a great deal of pressure to label Twitter as a gatekeeper. He believes that this would be a simple task, as Twitter likely meets the user threshold.

Damien Geradin, a competition lawyer based in Brussels, commented that the policy change implemented by Musk would likely cause the commission to take action. He stated, "Musk's decision is not beneficial for the company. To be frank, it is a foolish move."

Cristina Caffarra, the managing partner and head of Keystone Europe, noted that any solutions to the issue of Twitter would take a long time to implement - likely years - regardless of whether the commission attempted to take the company to court on antitrust charges or designated it as a gatekeeper. She added that this would give the company "plenty of time to wriggle away."

According to Schwab, Elon Musk is likely to face difficulties with the Digital Services Act due to Twitter's potential threat to free speech. The modifications Musk made over the weekend likely contravened the regulations that require companies to make their terms and services understandable to users, present them in all EU languages, and preserve media diversity. Nevertheless, the DSA and DMA will not be implemented until at least next year.

Christel Schaldemose, the primary author of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the European Parliament, declared that the most beneficial action the EU can take is to be ready to implement the DSA and Digital Markets Act (DMA) when they become applicable. She stated, “Would it have been preferable if the DSA was already in effect? Absolutely. But it also demonstrates that the new DSA and DMA system is necessary.”