Woke up: EU launches investigation into Elon Musk’s X due to disinformation
The European Union (EU) has initiated a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s company X, formerly known as Twitter, for its compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), The Verge reports. The move comes in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel in early October and subsequent Israeli air strikes on Gaza. The EU’s concern stems from allegations of illegal content and disinformation being disseminated on the platform, especially content promoting terrorism, violence and hate speech. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton contacted X owner Elon Musk, expressing concern that the platform is being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the EU. The EU has set a deadline of October 18 for X to provide information relevant to the investigation. The main goal of the investigation is to understand the protocols used by X during crisis situations. Breton emphasized that misleading images, including those from past armed conflicts, as well as manipulative images, are widely disseminated on X’s network.
This investigation into X is the first to be conducted under the new DSA rules. According to them, large tech companies such as Meta, Google, and Amazon, which operate huge online platforms with millions of users, can be held liable for content that is considered illegal in the EU. In severe cases, the Commission has the power to impose fines of up to six percent of the company’s global revenue.
In addition to X, Breton also addressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, emphasizing the importance of removing illegal content from the platform and ensuring strict compliance with DSA rules.