How Starmer and the EU are turning against Musk

European leaders have united in opposition against Elon Musk just a few hours later Sir Keir Starmer accused the tech billionaire of spreading “lies and misinformation” on his social media platform.

french president Emmanuel Macron used a speech Monday to issue a warning to the tech billionaire, accusing him of meddling in foreign policy in an attempt to support a “new international reactionary movement.”

Concern is also expressed in Germany and Norway about the interference of the Tesla owner in the internal politics of other countries, especially in Europe.

The warnings came shortly after the Prime Minister insisted that “a line had been crossed” in the online debate started by Musk over historical child sexual exploitation abuses in the UK.

Macron launched his own attack on the world’s richest man, using an Elysée speech to warn about Musk’s interference in German politics by publicly backing the far-right AfD party in an op-ed for a German newspaper. .

“Ten years ago, who could have imagined if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reactionary movement and directly intervene in elections, including in Germany,” Macron said.

But his comments did not go as far as those of Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who told Norway’s state broadcaster on Monday: “I find it worrying that a man with enormous access to social media and enormous financial resources would involved so directly in internal affairs. from other countries.

“This is not how things should be between democracies and allies.”

Concerns about Musk’s actions were also felt in Germany, where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised that he would “not feed the trolls” when asked about Musk’s personal attacks against him.

Speaking on Sunday, he said: “I find it much more worrying than those insults that Musk is supporting a party like the AfD, which is partly far-right, which preaches rapprochement with Putin’s Russia and wants to weaken transatlantic relations.”

The European Commission has said it will monitor an upcoming interview Musk will conduct with AfD leader Alice Weidel about users’ personal feeds amid integrity concerns. of elections.

“We will analyze the systemic risks that may arise from certain practices on a platform, such as a live broadcast, for example, boosting and recommendation systems,” Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier told reporters on Monday.

Bloomberg reported that the Commission was already monitoring Musk’s own posts to determine whether he is using an algorithm to ensure they appear in users’ feeds.

Labor MP Stella Creasy said The paper More needed to be done to confront figures like Musk.

“No country alone can stop those who have the money and means to spread hate from attacking them, but every candidate and leader can do more to challenge this, either directly or through third-party organisations. What more evidence do they need to realize that it is not in the interest of any Democrat to allow this? she said.

The Prime Minister chose to avoid Musk-led attacks on his and his ministers’ handling of child grooming gang cases, warning it would be a “slippery slope” if the truth no longer mattered in the political debate.

Starmer did not refer to Musk by name and declined to comment on the incoming Trump administration, in which the tech billionaire will hold a senior position.

But the Prime Minister was scathing in his criticism of the “lies and misinformation” Musk spreads online, accusing those involved of being “desperate for attention” and focusing on themselves, rather than vulnerable children.

Before Starmer’s comments, Musk had conducted an online poll asking his 211 million followers whether the United States “should free the people of Great Britain from their tyrannical rule,” having previously accused the Prime Minister of being “complicit in the rape of Britain” for “failing to tackle grooming gangs” during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Responding to questions after a speech in Surrey, Starmer said: “Those who spread lies and misinformation as far as possible are not interested in the victims, they are interested in themselves.”

He added that attacks on Home Secretary Jess Phillips – who he said had done “1,000 times more” than most when it came to protecting victims – were crossing a line and had led to threats.

The Prime Minister challenged the Conservative opposition party to call out the lies being spread.

“When politicians – and I mean politicians – who were in government for many years talk with indifference about honesty, decency, truth and the rule of law, and call for investigations because they want to get on the far-right bandwagon , then that affects politics. because a solid debate can only be based on real facts,” he said.

The row sparked by Musk’s comments has seen Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch call for a “full national inquiry into the rape gang scandal” and the Conservatives have tabled an amendment to the government’s child welfare bill on Wednesday to address to force a vote on the issue. .

The Government announces new measures to address child sexual exploitation and abuse

People who work with children must report concerns about abuse or risk losing their jobs as part of the Government’s response to the childcare gang scandal, the Home Secretary has confirmed.

Yvette Cooper said the new Labor administration would bring “new momentum and action” to tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse amid an ongoing debate over the handling of historic abuse in the UK after the previous Conservative administration failed to implement none of the changes called. for.

The Government has said it will implement all 20 recommendations contained in Alexis Jay’s report drawn up in response to abuses by Rotheram recruitment gangs, which found 1,400 people were exploited, raped and sexually abused by men of mainly Pakistani origin.

In a statement to the Commons, Cooper told MPs there had been a failure to tackle Pakistani heritage gangs and “a widespread perception that they should downplay ethnic dimensions for fear of being seen as racist”.

He confirmed that the Government will now ensure there is a mandatory obligation to report child abuse with measures to be included in the Crime and Policing Bill.

“The protection of institutions should never come before the protection of children,” he said.

The Government will also introduce tougher penalties for harassment and legislate to make harassment an aggravating factor in sexual crimes against children, “because the punishment must be tailored to the terrible crime,” Cooper said.

A new data set will also be made available to ensure that evidence on child sexual abuse and exploitation is collected and integrated into a new police performance framework to ensure such crimes are taken more seriously.