EU Warns Elon Musk 'Disinformation' is Spreading on X After Hamas Attack
EU Warns Elon Musk 'Disinformation' is Spreading on X After Hamas Attack
The Facts
Elon Musk has received a warning from EU industry chief Thierry Breton to comply with new EU online content rules, which prohibit the dissemination of suspected disinformation about Hamas's surprise attack on Israel Social media firms have seen a surge in misinformation about the conflict, including doctored images and mislabelled videos, that was spread on his X messaging platform, formerly known as Twitter.
In Breton's letter to Musk, he wrote, "I therefore invite you to urgently ensure that your systems are effective and report on the crisis measures taken to my team." Breton did not give any details on the disinformation he was referring to.
The Spin
The European Commission has warned social media companies about the spread of disinformation, after Hamas' attack on Israel. It gave Elon Musk 24 hours to respond and comply with European law by removing illegal content under the Digital Services Act and Terrorist Content Online Regulation. In 2022, shortly after acquiring Twitter, Mr. Musk dissolved its Trust and Safety Council; he must now prove that he is taking timely and diligent action to comply with laws designed to protect users.
The European Commission and its Digital Services Act requires Big Tech companies to serve as privatized censors for governments, one that has broad power and is held to arbitrary standards. This comes as part of a larger effort by EU officials to prohibit Russian propaganda and to make the rules against hate speech more stringent across the continent. EU's ultimatum puts Elon Musk--the self-proclaimed Free Speech Absolutist--before a dilemma: abide by the new rules or risk getting banned from the EU. As a r
