Elon Musk criticized "Business Insider" for publishing what he called a "false report" discussing plans to ban X (formerly Twitter) across Europe in response to EU moderation laws.

Citing "a person familiar with the company," the website published an article on Thursday claiming that the billionaire is considering this move in response to the EU compliance investigation initiated by the European Commission.

However, in response to the report posted on X regarding the "Business Insider" article, Musk stated that this claim is "completely false" and criticized it, describing it as "not a real publication."

This report from "Business Insider" came after EU Commissioner Thierry Breton announced last week that he was launching a formal investigation into X's compliance with the so-called Digital Services Act (DSA), requesting detailed information about the platform's measures to mitigate toxic content on the microblogging service.

The DSA law was also introduced in August, requiring online platforms like X to have transparent systems for monitoring and removing "illegal content," such as illegal hate speech.

Days before the investigation began, Breton claimed he received "indications" that Musk's platform was allowing the posting of illegal content in the aftermath of the attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, urging the microblogging service to take immediate action.

In a message to Musk, the commissioner said: "I urge you to urgently ensure the effectiveness of your systems and report on the crisis measures taken to my team," adding that he also expects the billionaire to be "in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities" and Europol, and to respond "immediately to their requests."

Musk responded to Breton's message, emphasizing that X's policy is based on "everything being open source and transparent," urging the commissioner to publicly list the violations he alluded to in a post on X "so that the public can see them."

Breton did not respond to Musk's suggestion.

If it turns out that X has failed to comply with the DSA, the EU could impose severe penalties, including fines of up to 6% of the company's annual global sales and banning it from the EU’s single market.