Guardian

Twitter agrees to comply with tough EU disinformation laws

Is Twitter ready for Europe’s new Big Tech rules? E.U. official says it has work to do

EU official visits Twitter headquarters to ‘stress test’ its ability to handle content moderation

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.

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, with some showing up on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

EU industry chief Thierry Breton has warned X's Elon Musk and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg about "disinformation" regarding Hamas' attack on Israel as social media platforms have allegedly seen a rise in false information — such as altered images and mislabeled videos — about the conflict.

BBC News

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.

In a letter to Musk, Breton wrote, "I, therefore, invite you to urgently ensure that your systems are effective and report on the crisis measures taken to my team." He did not give any details on the disinformation he was referring to.

In a letter to Musk on Tuesday and to Zuckerberg on Wednesday, Breton gave them each 24 hours to reply to his concerns and take action to abide by EU laws. He didn't give any specific details on the alleged disinformation he was referring to.

CNBC

Musk, responding later on X to a user who had posted the letter, invited Breton to "please list the violations you allude to." Musk wrote, "Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports."

Musk, responding later on X to a user who had posted the letter, invited Breton to "please list the violations you allude to." Saying, "Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports."

In response, Meta said it had created a committee operated by experts to monitor the conflict and platform, while, according to Musk, X has also pursued solutions, such as eliminating Hamas-affiliated accounts. Musk further responded by requesting Breton to "list the violations" he's concerned about.

Yahoo! News

In August, when the new EU regulation came into effect, Musk responded to a post by Breton, promising that the platform was "working hard" to comply. However, there have been more warning signs. While the rules were still voluntary, the firm pulled out of an oversight group, and Musk, a self-styled "free speech absolutist," has been dismissive of criticism in his personal posts. In September, the billionaire tech mogul boasted that he had reduced the global team's efforts to monitor and restrict disinformat

In August, when the new EU regulation came into effect, Musk responded to a post by Breton, promising that the platform was "working hard" to comply. However, while the rules were still voluntary, the firm pulled out of an oversight group, and Musk, a self-styled "free speech absolutist," announced in September, that he had reduced the global team's efforts to monitor and restrict disinformation and election-related fraud by half.

Under the Digital Services Act (DSA) — enacted in August — and the Terrorist Content Online regulation, social media companies are required to prevent terrorist content and posts that are deemed to contain illegal hate speech from propagating on their platforms. Hamas is a designated terrorist group in the EU.

Those who violate DSA guidelines could face a fine equal to 6% of their revenue or be banned from the EU.

Newsweek

If Musk does not follow the DSA's guidelines, the business may be subject to a fine equal to 6% of its X revenue or a complete blackout in the EU.

If X does not follow the DSA's guidelines, the company could face a fine equal to 6% of its revenue or a complete blackout in the EU.

Guardian #2596

NBC #4534

CNN #2949

BBC News #

CNBC #

Yahoo! News #

Newsweek #2402

The European Commission has warned social media companies about the spread of disinformation, after Hamas' attack on Israel. The Commission 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

Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times #

Op-Ed: Don’t be too tempted by Europe’s plan to fix social media

Three is a 2% chance Elon Musk will hold major political office in the US before February 2033, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Metaculus2

Elon Musk major US politician by Feb 2033?

Flickr [via Wikimedia Commons]

EU Warns Musk, Zuckerberg of 'Disinformation' After Hamas Attack

Computers & internet

Hate speech

Legislation

Media

Europe

The first casualty of war is truth. Propaganda takes over. Social media provides new possibilities for spreading false and misleading information, outdated and irrelevant videos, and deceptive photos. The Internet is flooded with images and videos from video games purported to be from Ukraine and the Middle East, adding further confusion and deception to an already chaotic moment. The EU has recognized this problem and recently introduced the Digital Services Act (DSA) to protect the public from malicious d

nytimes

False Claims Around the Israel Attacks Include Recycled Videos and a Game Clip

The European Commission's Digital Services Act requires big tech companies to serve as privatized censors for governments. It comes as part of a larger effort by EU officials to prohibit Russian propaganda and make the rules against hate speech more stringent across the continent. In fact, the DSA is subjugating social media users in the US to the arbitrary moderation practices of foreign governments, which have much weaker free expression protections than those guaranteed by the First Amendment. Who gave t

EU Warns Musk, Zuckerberg of 'Disinformation' After Hamas Attack

EU Warns Musk, Zuckerberg of 'Disinformation' After Hamas Attack

The Spin

Articles on this story

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters

EU Warns Musk, Zuckerberg of 'Disinformation' After Hamas Attack

EU Warns Musk, Zuckerberg of 'Disinformation' After Hamas Attack

The Spin

Articles on this story

Sign Up for Our Free NewslettersSign Up for Our Free Newsletters

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters