BRUSSELS: The EU on Friday warned Elon Musk that Twitter could be subject to sanctions under a future media law after the "worrying" suspension of several journalists from the messaging platform.
"News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying. EU's Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our Media Freedom Act," EU commissioner Vera Jourova posted on Twitter.
"Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon."
Jourova's warning came backed by two pieces of EU legislation, one of them not yet adopted.
The Digital Services Act (DSA) requires companies serving European web users to meet strict standards against manipulative algorithms, disinformation and other online harm.
It came into force on November 16 but is not fully applicable across the EU's 27 countries until next March for the biggest online platforms -- likely to include Twitter -- and a year later for others.
Companies found in violation of the DSA could be fined sums equal to up to six per cent of the global revenue -- or even banned from the huge EU market.
The EU's Media Freedom Act (MFA) has been proposed by the European Commission but not yet made into law.
It seeks to protect media pluralism and independence in an increasingly digital space -- ensuring media outlets are not unduly pressured and are able to remain editorially independent.
It foresees an EU body being set up which would monitor self-regulation by very large platforms and discuss issues such as "foreign information manipulation and interference".
Silencing journalists at Twitter while claiming to be a free speech champion is the latest controversy provoked by Musk since he took over the company, which has seen staffing gutted and advertisers exit.
Some of the journalists had been tweeting about Twitter shutting down an @ElonJet account that tracked flights of billionaire Musk's private jet and about versions of that account hosted on other social networks.
Twitter did not say why the reporters' accounts were suspended.
"Nothing says free speech like suspending journalists who cover you," Sarah Reese Jones of the news commentary website PoliticusUSA said in a tweeted response to posts about the suspensions.
Checks on Twitter showed account suspensions included reporters from CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post as well as independent journalists.
"The impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, is concerning but not surprising," the news organization said in a tweet.
"Twitter's increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses the platform."
CNN said that it has asked Twitter for an explanation of the suspension.
In a statement, The New York Times said it also wanted answers from Twitter regarding the "questionable" suspension of journalists.
"I have no idea what rules I purportedly broke," independent journalist Aaron Rupar, whose Twitter account was suspended, wrote in a Substack post.
"I haven't heard anything from Twitter at all."
In a tweet late Thursday, Musk appeared to allude to the suspension of the reporters' accounts with this tweet: "If anyone posted real-time locations & addresses of NYT reporters, FBI would be investigating, there’d be hearings on Capitol Hill & Biden would give speeches about end of democracy!"
Musk on Wednesday tweeted that a car in Los Angeles carrying one of his children was followed by "a crazy stalker" and seemed to blame the tracking of his jet for this alleged incident. In the tweet, he said legal action is being taken against the person who ran ElonJet.
The Twitter account that tracked flights of Musk's private jet was shut down Wednesday despite the billionaire's statement that he is a free speech absolutist.
Twitter later sent out word that it updated its policy to prohibit tweets, in most cases, from giving away someone's location in real-time.
Musk had gone public saying he would not touch @ElonJet after buying Twitter in a $44 billion deal as part of his commitment to free speech on the platform.