Twitter Needs to Follow the EU's Guidelines on Misinformation, EU Warns Musk
CIO Review Europe | Friday, December 02, 2022
The EU commissioner for the internal market held a video call with Musk and told him there is still huge work ahead to bring the platform in line with the commission’s rules.
FREMONT, CA:Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, was cautioned by Europe's top enforcer of digital regulations that he must do more to combat misinformation to adhere to EU law. In a video chat with Musk, Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for the internal market, warned that there is still significant work ahead to bring the platform into compliance with Brussels' regulations.
Elon Musk's declarations of intent to get Twitter 2.0 ready for the EU Digital Services Act, the main internet regulation in Brussels, are something they support. Breton used Musk's site Twitter to share a brief, silent video clip of his videoconference. Still, he also included a link to a lengthy message on the competing Mastodon social network.
Stay ahead of the industry with exclusive feature stories on the top companies, expert insights and the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe today.
Twitter will need to implement open user policies, drastically strengthen content control and free speech protection, take on misinformation head-on, and restrict tailored advertising. Musk didn't directly answer Breton's post. Still, in a different tweet in response to another user, he acknowledged that Twitter has failed in trust and safety for a very long period under the prior administration.
He declared that Twitter 2.0 would be much more effective, transparent, and fair.
The DSA, which was passed last year, will go into effect the following year once tech behemoths have had a chance to abide by more stringent European directives to delete dangerous or purposefully deceptive content.
Businesses that are found to be in violation risk fines of up to six per cent of their annual global revenue or perhaps being barred from doing business in the European Union, a market with more than 440 million consumers.
Before the law's passage, tech corporations extensively lobbied EU lawmakers, but the majority now claim they would work to abide by the guidelines, despite concerns prompted by Musk's actions since purchasing Twitter last month.
Musk, a self-described free speech absolutist, has already fired a large number of Twitter staffers in charge of content filtering and keeping in touch with Brussels regulators.
Additionally, he has started to permit Twitter users who have been expelled from the service for disseminating false information, like former US president Donald Trump, to rejoin.
It was discovered that Twitter no longer enforces a regulation barring users from disseminating false information about Covid-19 and vaccine efficacy.
Such actions raise alarms for Brussels, concerned about whether a significant and prominent site like Twitter will adhere to the DSA. These include tightened guidelines against the manipulation of social media content, steps to combat misinformation, strengthened content monitoring, and restrictions on targeted advertising. Finally, it cautions the industry heavyweights of Silicon Valley to be ready for a European assessment of their practices.
More in News