An official of the European Union has indicated that the social media platform X is being used to spread disinformation in Europe. In response to these allegations, the European Commission has launched a probe into X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding the alleged spreading of “illegal content” and disinformation on its platform related to the Hamas-Israel war. The commission will investigate X’s compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to regulate the spread of illegal content and disinformation on social media platforms.
The probe will cover X’s policies and practices regarding notices on illegal content, complaint handling, risk assessment, and measures to mitigate identified risks. This request for information from X follows indications received by the commission of the alleged spreading of illegal content and disinformation, including terrorist and violent content and hate speech. X is required to provide the requested information by Oct. 18, with a deadline of Oct. 31 to address the remaining inquiries.
The commission has stated that it may initiate formal proceedings under Article 66 of the DSA based on X’s responses. If X fails to respond, the commission may request the information by decision, and failure to meet the response deadline could result in the imposition of penalties. These actions by the commission are in response to European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton’s letter to X CEO Elon Musk, in which Breton warned of potential investigation and penalties due to indications that X is being used to spread disinformation in Europe.
In a letter from X CEO Linda Yaccarino, it was stated that the platform has removed or labeled “tens of thousands of pieces of content” related to the Hamas-Israel conflict. Yaccarino also mentioned that X has been responding to law enforcement requests from EU member states, but had not received any notices from Europol regarding illegal content at the time of Breton’s letter. X has emphasized that there is no place on their platform for terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups, and they continue to remove such accounts in real-time. The platform has assembled a leadership group and redistributed resources to address the rapidly evolving situation.
X’s safety account has reported an increase in daily active users since the attack occurred, with over 50 million global posts focusing on the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas. The platform is actively monitoring antisemitic speech and has taken action to remove accounts attempting to manipulate trending topics. The death toll in Israel and Gaza continues to rise, with the Israeli military conducting intense operations in Gaza City while making efforts to avoid harming civilians.
Overall, the European Commission’s probe into X’s compliance with the DSA and allegations of spreading illegal content and disinformation highlights the ongoing concerns surrounding social media platforms and their role in the propagation of harmful content.