CNN –
European officials warned X on Tuesday that the company formerly known as Twitter appeared to have hosted misinformation and illegal content about the war between Hamas and Israel, potentially violating the European Union’s signature content moderation law.
In a letter addressed to X owner Elon Musk, Thierry Breton, a senior European commissioner, said that
As a platform subject to Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA), X could face billions of dollars in fines if regulators conclude that violations have occurred. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The warning letter highlights the potentially enormous legal threat to gaming.
Much of the problematic content appears to be due to platform changes made under Musk’s supervision, Breton suggested in the letter. which he shared on X.
For example, he wrote: X announced over the weekend that it made it easier for accounts to qualify for newsworthiness exceptions to its platform rules. By changing the Public Interest Policy, accounts only need to be “high-profile” accounts that, as before, represent current or potential government officials, political parties or political candidates.
Removing the follower threshold and replacing it with a celebrity standard makes it “uncertain” what content, particularly “violent and terrorist content that appears to be circulating on your platform,” will be removed, Breton wrote.
Under the DSA, which became enforceable for major platforms in August, companies will also need to act quickly if officials highlight content that violates European laws, which X may not do, Breton warned.
“We have received reports from qualified sources of potentially illegal content being distributed on your service despite notifications from the relevant authorities,” Breton wrote.
Gonzalo Fuentes/Portal
Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, gestures as he attends the Viva Technology conference on innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France on June 16, 2023.
“I remind you that penalties may be imposed following the initiation of a possible investigation and the finding of non-compliance,” he added.
In an exchange about X, Musk replied to Breton. “Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach I know the EU supports,” Musk wrote. “Please list the violations you point out on X so they are visible to the public.”
Breton reported back: “You know the reports from your users – and authorities – about fake content and glorification of violence. It’s up to you to show that you walk your talk. My team remains at your disposal to ensure DSA compliance, which the EU will continue to strictly enforce.”
The EU letter comes at a time when misinformation about the conflict remains widespread across X.
On Tuesday, investigative journalism group Bellingcat said a fake video purporting to look like a BBC News report was circulating on social media.
The video falsely claimed that Bellingcat had found evidence that Ukraine had smuggled weapons to Hamas. Elliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, said the report was “100% fake.”
To make the video look like a real BBC News report, its creators used graphics almost identical to those the BBC uses in its own online video reports.
The video circulated on Telegram and was shared on X by at least one verified account.
X did not remove the fake BBC News video, but did place a small note underneath the video indicating that it was “manipulated media.”
Responding to a question about the fake video, a BBC spokesperson said: “In a world of increasing disinformation, we urge everyone to ensure they are getting news from a trusted source.”
Shayan Sardarizadeh, a BBC News reporter, wrote on X Tuesday, “The video is 100% fake.”
Since taking over, Musk has fired large portions of X’s content moderation and policy teams, prompting backlash from civil society groups, who have warned of an increasing threat of misinformation and hate speech.
To prevent what he called the creation of automated accounts, Musk also did away with the traditional verification badges that once assured users of an account’s authenticity, replacing them with a paid system that allowed any user to obtain a verification badge , without having to perform any identity verification. Misinformation experts said the move undermines users’ ability to judge the credibility of a particular account, especially during a fast-moving news event.
But Musk himself directly contributed to the chaos, once sharing and then deleting a post recommending users follow an account known to spread misinformation, including a fake report about an explosion at the Pentagon Beginning of the year.