The European Commission has said it is stepping up its investigation into whethe rElon Musk's social media network X breached EU rules on content moderation with requests for information and an order for it to retain relevant documents.
As part of its investigation launched in December 2023, the EU executive said it was requesting X to provide by 15 February internal documentation about its recommender system that makes content suggestions to users, and any recent changes made to it.
"Today we are taking further steps to shed light on the compliance of X's recommender systems with the obligations under the DSA," EU digital chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement, referring to the EU's Digital Services Act.
Mr Musk has repeatedly clashed with EU regulators, while some European politicians have accused him of meddling in elections, such as with his streamed conversation with the leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany.
Last week Mr Musk urged Germans to vote for the AfD party in an upcoming general election during a broadcast he hosted with the party's co-leader.
Mr Musk has said the criticism is an affront to democracy and free speech.
The Commission issued a "retention order" requiring X to preserve internal documents and information regarding future changes to the design and functioning of its recommender algorithms for the period from 17 January to the end of the year.
It also requested access to certain of X's technical interfaces.
"These steps will allow the Commission services to take allrelevant facts into account in the complex assessment under the DSA of systemic risks and their mitigation," the Commissionsaid.
It comes as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused the US tech billionaire of threatening democracy in Europe with his attacks on the continent's leaders and support for the far right.
"He supports the far right across Europe - in the UK, Germany and many other countries. This is something that is completely unacceptable, that endangers the democratic development of Europe," Mr Scholz said.
