Brussels:
Thierry Breton, the EU’s digital chief, warned Elon Musk on Tuesday that his platform X, formerly Twitter, is spreading “illegal content and disinformation”, in a letter seen by AFP.
The letter said concerns had increased following the Hamas attack on Israel, and demanded that Musk respond to the complaint and contact “relevant law enforcement authorities” within 24 hours.
As the European Union’s commissioner for industry and digital economy, Breton is tasked with regulating internet giants trading within the bloc and can take legal action.
“Following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” Breton wrote.
Breton reminded Musk that EU law sets strict rules for content moderation, “especially when it comes to violent and terrorist content that appears to be circulating on your platform.”
He asked X to respond to his complaint within 24 hours and also to contact Europol, the EU’s police coordination agency.
“We will include your response in our assessment file on your compliance with the DSA,” Breton said, referring to the new EU Digital Services Act, which regulates online platforms.
“I remind you that sanctions may be imposed following the opening of a possible investigation and the finding of non-compliance,” the statement said.
Musk, who later responded on X to a user who posted the letter, invited Breton to “list the violations you reference.”
“Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach I know the EU supports,” Musk wrote.
– Hatred and violence –
Brussels has previously complained that of the large-scale internet platforms under the DSA mandate, Musk’s Twitter, now renamed X, spreads the bulk of disinformation.
In August, as the new law took effect, Musk replied to a message from Breton promising the platform was “working hard” to comply, but there were more warning signs.
Although the rules were still voluntary, the company withdrew from an oversight group, and Musk – a self-described “free speech absolutist” – has rejected criticism in his personal messages.
In September, the billionaire tech mogul boasted that he had cut half his global team dedicated to monitoring and mitigating disinformation and fraud around major elections.
Since Saturday’s shock attack on Israeli communities by the militant Hamas group, web platforms have been flooded with posts containing false or misrepresented reports and images.
While the confirmed death toll in the renewed war has now passed 3,000, unconfirmed, exaggerated or false reports of atrocities have also increased.
Experts fear these measures have increased the risk of disinformation causing real-world harm and amplifying hatred and violence.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)