The European Union Commissioner who threatened to censor Elon Musk and his X platform has quit over disagreements with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and claims she was trying to replace him. Thierry Breton, who served in the last European Commission—the executive branch of the European Union—and was nominated by French President Emmanuel Macron to serve again in the upcoming Commission, resigned Monday, September 16.
Breton released a letter on X announcing his resignation. The letter stated that Von der Leyen had asked President Macron to withdraw Breton “for personal reasons,” subsequently claiming she offered France a more influential Commission position in the exchange.
Meanwhile, Breton called the move by Von der Leyen “further testimony to questionable governance.”
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my colleagues in the College, Commission services, MEPs, Member States, and my team.
Together, we have worked tirelessly to advance an ambitious EU agenda.
It has been an honour & privilege to serve the common European interest🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/wQ4eeHUnYu
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) September 16, 2024
Ironically, Breton posted his resignation letter on X, a platform he has threatened recently. This includes threatening the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, ahead of his recent interview with former President Donald J. Trump.
Breton had warned Musk that if he did not censor the interview, he could face penalties under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) if he violated its policies on hate speech, misinformation, or incitement to violence.
The threat came after months of tension between Breton and Musk. The EU launched initial proceedings under the DSA against X last December.
France, Breton’s native country, has also demanded that X censor “misinformation” on the platform, or it could be banned entirely from France and the EU. Most recently, Brazilian leftist Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes followed through with threats to ban X, even stating that anyone who tried to use a virtual private network (VPN) to access the site would be handed thousands of dollars of fines per day.