Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s social network service (SNS) “X” (formerly Twitter) is on the verge of being the first subject of sanctions by the European Union’s SNS regulation law, the Digital Service Act (DSA).
The European Commission said on the 12th (local time) that it has launched an investigation into X over the appropriateness of handling illegal content related to armed clashes between Israel and Palestinian militant Hamas.
“We have requested information from X in accordance with the DSA,” said Thierry Brutton, an executive member. “DSA exists to protect freedom of expression and democracy in times of crisis.”
The Washington Post (WP) reported that the move is the most significant step the EU has taken on the SNS platform since the implementation of the DSA in August, beyond urging Musk to comply with the DSA on the 10th.
DSA is a law aimed at preventing fake news and illegal content from being distributed on SNS platforms such as X and Facebook.
The platform should prepare a system for rapid removal and prevention of harmful and illegal content, and if it violates it, it will be fined up to 6% of annual global revenue.
The investigation into X was made public after X CEO Linda Yakarino sent a letter to Brtong on the 11th saying X had “deleted tens of thousands of content or labeled it as misleading content” after Hamas attacked Israel.
CEO Yakarino’s letter came after executive committee member Brutton urged Musk to comply with DSA obligations on the 11th, saying, “We have indications that X is being used to distribute illegal content and false information.”
In addition to X, the EU has also issued warnings to major platforms such as Facebook’s parent company Meta and TikTok about the possibility of “DSA violations.”
Meanwhile, fake news related to the armed conflict between Israel and Palestine is known to be spreading the most on X than other SNS.
Shortly after Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel, a post was posted on X in the early morning of the 7th that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was urgently transferred to a hospital. The article had nearly 1 million views at the time, but it turned out to be fake news.
On the 8th, a video of Hamas shooting down an Israeli helicopter by directing a video game was posted, and fake documents from the White House that the U.S. approved $8 billion in aid to Israel also spread.
Musk previously said to the EU, “Our policy is that the source of everything is public and transparent, which is an approach that the EU also supports,” adding, “Please list what you violated so that the public can see it.”
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