In view of Twitter’s compliance with EU law, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton imposed fines and other measures. “It is absolutely clear: if Twitter does not follow these rules, we can impose fines. And if the violations of the rules continue, we can close the platform in Europe”, Breton told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “No one should be deceived: We will do the same if necessary. That is the desire of our great democracy.”
“We’ve been following what’s been going on at Twitter closely since Elon Musk took over,” Breton said, announcing that there would be another meeting between him and Twitter boss Musk before Christmas. Digital marketplaces and digital services laws “offer powerful tools to curb the spread of lies and hate,” Breton said. “Twitter needs to meet these criteria if it wants to continue operating in the European market.”
Musk has always stressed that what he saw as excessive restrictions on free speech on the platform should be removed. Critics worry that he could encourage hate speech and hate speech. One of the goals of the Digital Services Act is to ensure that platforms remove illegal content from their websites faster. The requirements will apply across the EU from mid-February 2024 – earlier for particularly large platforms. In early 2023, Commission officials will conduct a stress test at Twitter headquarters. (apa)