EU Warns Twitter Over 'Incomplete' Content-Moderation Report

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Facts

  • The European Commission on Thursday admonished Twitter for allegedly not being seriously committed to tackling disinformation as the company has reportedly lagged behind other tech giants in the last six months.1
  • This comes as EU officials asserted that the Elon Musk-owned firm submitted to the EU an incomplete report about how it is fighting intentionally false and misleading information posted on the platform.2
  • Twitter was allegedly the only tech company that failed to provide information about its plan to cooperate with fact-checkers as well as the required data on how they tackle falsehoods and foreign interference on their platforms.3
  • The report was issued as part of the 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation — a set of regulatory standards based on guidelines set out by the European Commission that Twitter and more than 30 other companies voluntarily agreed to follow.4
  • Failing to fully comply with the Code could put Twitter in trouble with regulators as a wide range of content moderation rules is set to be implemented by Sept. 1 in the EU's upcoming Digital Services Act. Companies could face fines of up to 6% of their annual revenues or even a ban if they breach the Act.5
  • The EU published in November an evaluation made before Musk took over the company that found Twitter took longer to address hateful content in 2022 compared to 2021.6

Sources: 1Forbes, 2Wall Street Journal, 3Politico, 4CNBC, 5Bloomberg and 6The hill.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Euronews. The EU has been taking decisive action to curb online hate speech and the spread of misinformation and extremism, with the regulatory Digital Services Act coming into effect next year to enforce social media platforms to protect people's life and safety. As the Internet is no longer a lawless land, Musk-owned Twitter could face fines and even a ban if goes down a shaky path.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by National review. Most European countries have never genuinely valued free speech. Yet, Brussels is taking this attitude to a new level by imposing a radical censorship mechanism intended to force social media companies — especially Twitter — to follow an imposed ideological content-moderation policy.

Predictions