The European Commission said on Friday it was stepping up its investigation into whether Elon 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.

Zuckerberg has called on Trump to protect US companies from EU fines – following Meta's moderation policy reversal last week.

BRUSSELS — Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg was not telling the truth when he said the European Union was institutionalizing censorship, the bloc’s top tech official said.

Mark Zuckerberg warns that 5% of Meta workforce is going to be cut; and "low performers" will be targeted first.

The European Commission will fully enforce its rules governing social media and other large online platforms and has not delayed any actions, the EU digital chief said on Wednesday.

Ireland looks set to be included in a new round of layoffs by Meta, which is to get rid of 5pc of its staff. The news, first reported by Bloomberg, was sent to staff in a memo by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, according to an official involved with the planning of the event. They will have a prominent spot at the ceremony,

The European Union seems powerless to counter the assault waged by the US president-elect and Big Tech, against laws designed to regulate the EU's digital space.

But that was before Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House and before two of today's tech titans – Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg – were essentially handed carte blanche to declare war on the EU’s digital defences.

The probe is a test of the European Union’s willingness to go after X’s owner, Elon Musk, whose geopolitical influence has grown because of his ties to the incoming Trump administration.

Mark Zuckerberg reportedly met with the senior Trump adviser just before publicly announcing all the changes to Meta.