The European Union took action for the X (formerly Twitter) platform after the Apple crisis. Stating that the fight against disinformation on the X platform is not at a sufficient level, the European Union Commission published an open letter to Elon Musk.
European Union: “X fails to combat disinformation.”
The European Union previously warned X about disinformation regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine, claiming the platform was the social media outlet with the “highest rate of false or disinformation posts.” Armed conflicts between Israel and Palestine mobilized the European Union Commission again.
European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said: “Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have received indications that your platform is being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the EU. Therefore, I invite you to urgently ensure that your systems are effective and to inform my team about the crisis measures taken.” He stated:
Brenton outlined three key items of concern to the commission. The Commission first wanted X to be clearer about its content policies and to enforce those policies “consistently and diligently.” Secondly, X was asked to take quick action when alerted that illegal content was circulating on the platform. Finally, X was requested to establish “mitigation measures” to minimize disinformation risks to society and public safety.
In recent years, Twitter has been an invaluable tool for accessing real-time information about breaking news and events. Musk’s sweeping changes to the platform have made it nearly useless for this purpose, prioritizing posts from anyone who pays a subscription fee and causing confusion about which sources can be trusted.