It seems like nothing can stop what was once Twitter from spiraling into hell. Since Elon Musk came to power, not a week has passed without bad news for the platform’s most loyal users. On the other hand, this week is especially busy. Just yesterday, the billionaire dropped a small bombshell on the social network. Newcomers to New Zealand and the Philippines will now have to pay $1 a year to have an account.
It’s a situation we thought was unthinkable just a year ago, but it continues to worsen. Today we learned from our colleagues at Business Insider that Elon Musk is on the verge of cutting off European users’ access to X. The businessman has another enthusiasm, triggered by the apparent lack of moderation and the numerous calls for orders from the Commission on the fight against fake news on the platform, especially since the resumption of violence between Israel and Palestine.
Twitter in Europe will (perhaps) end soon
It must be said that the timing was particularly bad. Therefore, it seems that Elon Musk does not actually want to comply with this DSA and prefers to withdraw from the continent completely or block access to internet users for now, like his rival Threads.
“This is one of the reasons why he faces international teams every chance he gets.”A source from Business Insider explains, citing the massive wave of layoffs that hit Twitter with the arrival of Elon Musk, particularly affecting moderation teams. Since then, there are almost no X offices left in the Old Continent. With offices in Paris, Madrid and Berlin now closed, management will remain solely in Dublin.
Strategically, Elon Musk will not take a big risk by withdrawing from Europe. According to Apptopia data, only 9% of X users are European. Note, however, that since the billionaire came to power, the latter has largely abandoned the platform, with a rate of between 10 and 40 percent depending on the country. On the contrary, by remaining in their positions,
In the past, Elon Musk has already expressed his desire to limit access. It would later look to expand this availability to the United Kingdom and Japan, where the platform is still very popular. Moreover, although Europe was especially affected by office closures, it is not the only country: India, Australia, South Korea and many African countries were also affected.
Source : Business Content
