European Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton on Tuesday gave Elon Musk, the head of X (formerly Twitter), 24 hours to answer questions about “disinformation” and the “spreading of illegal content” on his platform.
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“Following the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel, we have evidence that your platform is being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” wrote Thierry Breton in a letter to Elon Musk, warning of possible sanctions, consulted by AFP.
“We have received reports from qualified sources about potentially illegal content circulating on your service despite reports from the relevant authorities,” emphasized the Commissioner.
“If you receive reports of illegal content in the EU, you must act quickly, carefully and objectively and remove the content in question when justified,” he reminded.
This obligation arises in particular from the new European legislation on digital services (DSA) that came into force at the end of August.
Thierry Breton also reminded the US boss of “the very specific duties” he has in terms of content moderation, still under the DSA.
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“You must be very transparent and clear about the content permitted in your terms of service and apply your own policies consistently and carefully,” the commissioner wrote in that Oct. 10 letter.
“This is particularly important when it comes to violent and terrorist content that appears to be circulating on your platform,” he emphasized.
The commissioner also called on Elon Musk to “urgently” ensure that its systems “are effective and to inform” Brussels “of the crisis measures to be taken.”
“Given the urgency, I also expect you to be in contact with the authorities responsible for enforcing the law and with Europol and to respond quickly to their requests,” Thierry Breton continued.
“I request that you respond quickly, accurately and completely to this request within the next 24 hours,” he ordered.
“I remind you that sanctions may be imposed following the initiation of a possible investigation and the discovery of non-compliance,” he warned.