Report: EU Threatens Twitter Ban Over Content Moderation

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Facts

  • On Wednesday, EU commissioner for digital policy Thierry Breton warned Elon Musk that Twitter must enforce policies to protect users from hate speech, misinformation, and other harmful content or risk violating new rules that would lead to fines or even a ban.
  • In a video meeting with Musk, Breton reportedly said that Twitter must adhere to EU regulations, such as ditching an "arbitrary" approach to reinstating banned users and agreeing to an "extensive independent audit" of the platform by next year.
  • Breton added, "Twitter will have to implement transparent user policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and protect freedom of speech, tackle disinformation with resolve, and limit targeted advertising." Failure to do so can result in a fine of 6% of the company's annual revenue.
  • Musk reportedly responded by calling the Digital Services Act, a policy requiring social media platforms to remove hate speech and bans ads targeting people based on political beliefs, "very sensible." He also vowed that Twitter's policies would comply with the applicable laws.
  • Twitter recently said that it still seeks to "promote and protect the public conversation" but that it had changed its "approach to experimentation" by undergoing more "public testing." Musk has said that Twitter's policies will focus on de-amplifying violative content.
  • Alongside European regulations, Musk also reportedly risks infringing on Apple and Google's stringent content moderation and data protection policies, which could make accessing Twitter more challenging.

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and FT.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by Guardian. Musk should heed the EU's warnings, as Twitter cannot be allowed to turn into a conspiratorial digital mechanism. The EU is taking the appropriate steps to regulate big tech, which has an ever-growing power over the general public. Simply put, this sort of government control is needed to prevent abuses in the digital world.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Breitbart. The EU is only making these threats to satisfy global elites who hate Musk's championing of free speech. The EU loves censorship and wants to bully him into creating a political echo chamber of "acceptable" opinions. Hopefully, Musk's agreement that the EU law is sensible doesn't mean he'll bend the knee.