Elon Musk’s platform needs to take action against so-called ‘illegal content’ and ‘misinformation’ related to the Israel-Hamas war, an EU official wrote.
A top European regulator demanded Elon Musk remove “misinformation” and “illegal content” about the Israel-Hamas conflict from the billionaire’s social media website, X.
Thierry Bretton, the European Commissioner for the European Union’s internal market, issued a warning to Mr. Musk last week in a letter that was posted X last week and accused the platform of not blocking posts around the conflict. He said that regulations about “illegal content” could lead to penalties, including a 6 percent reduction of the firm’s annual revenue.
Groups are spreading alleged misinformation and “violent and terrorist” content on the platform, he said.
“Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU. Let me remind you that the Digital Services Act sets very precise obligations regarding content moderation,” Mr. Breton wrote in the letter.
The X platform needs to be ” very transparent and clear” on the content that is allowed under the terms and conditions and “enforce your own policies,” it said. “We have, from qualified sources, reports about potentially illegal content circulating on your service despite flags from relevant authorities,” the letter said, without naming the sources or posts.
The EU regulator then demanded X, formerly known as Twitter, respond to his letter within 24 hours. So far, Mr. Musk hasn’t released a public statement about the matter.
Instead, X CEO Linda Yaccarino on Thursday released information about actions taken by X to go after certain types of content on the platform following the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7. The platform has removed hundreds of accounts associated with Hamas and has taken down thousands of posts after the attack on Israel, she said.
“X is proportionately and effectively assessing and addressing identified fake and manipulated content during this constantly evolving and shifting crisis,” Ms. Yaccarino said in a letter back to the EU.
By Jack Phillips
