British government had ‘constructive’ talks with Musk’s X over disinformation, minister says
LONDON — The U.K. government has had “constructive” talks with Elon Musk’s social media site X over the spread of misinformation and other harmful content, technology minister Peter Kyle told CNBC Friday.
Kyle told CNBC’s Arabile Gumede that the government had been in contact with all the major social media platforms — including Musk’s X — over the summer about misinformation and the role they have in propagating harmful material.
The minister said that, although he hasn’t had direct contact with Musk himself, he is “in touch often with his local chief executives here in the United Kingdom.”
“So far, it has been a constructive set of conversations,” he said, adding that, though there are “differences” in views between the two parties, they talk them through.
Citizens and governments around the world have higher expectations about social media platforms today and the role they play in keeping people safe and mitigating potential harms stemming from their products, Kyle said.