Days after the European Union leveled a massive fine against X-owner Elon Musk, his xAI chatbot Grok admitted that X fell in line with European regulations which have taken a big step away from protecting free speech.
After X warned users in the European Union, the United Kingdom and around the world that their content might be censored in Europe, Grok acknowledged the move was not pro-free speech. “No, initiating this policy is not pro-free speech,” Grok admitted. The chatbot suggested this change would help avoid EU fines, saying that X would be “censoring legal speech to satisfy regulatory demands.”
Grok explained, “In short, it's a pragmatic legal necessity for global operation, but it dilutes pure free speech principles by enabling proactive moderation of non-illegal content in affected areas. Many users and observers have criticized it precisely for this reason, viewing it as a step away from X's ‘free speech absolutist’ positioning.”
The EU announced a $140 million fine against Musk’s X on Dec. 11, purportedly over issues such as researcher access and the platform's blue check system. However, the EU and member states such as France have also investigated X for allowing alleged misinformation on the platform. In fact, Musk has said that the EU offered not to fine X if the platform engaged in censorship last year. Former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton also threatened Musk and then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in July 2024, in an apparent attempt to to dictate what they could and could not discuss in an interview.
X even acknowledges that online free speech will have geographical borders. X announced Tuesday that “We’ve updated our Terms to explain that in some places, for example, the EU and UK, we may need to remove not only illegal content but also content considered harmful or unsafe under local laws.” X’s new terms of service warned both users in these areas and outside of these areas that “your Content or account may be subject to restrictions in those jurisdictions.”
Notably, the same day that X rolled out these changes, the Office of the United States Trade Representative told the EU that America would respond against European companies operating in the United States if the EU continued to persecute American companies.
Multiple Trump administration officials condemned the recent EU fine against X, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio wrote on X, “The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over.”
President Donald Trump has also warned the EU against fining American companies.
Methodology: MRC Researchers asked Grok the following question on Dec. 16: “X recently announced that ‘We’ve updated our Terms to explain that in some places, for example, the EU and UK, we may need to remove not only illegal content but also content considered harmful or unsafe under local laws.’ Is it pro-free speech to initiate that policy on X?”
Conservatives are under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
Editor's Note: This piece has been edited for clarity.
