EU opens formal investigation into illegal content on X
X must answer questions about its crisis response protocol by next week
The European Commission issued a formal request for information to X on Thursday, a day after EU Commissioner, Thierry Breton, warned Elon Musk about misinformation on the site formerly known as Twitter related to the Israel—Hamas war.
As a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), X is obliged to comply with rules under the recently enacted Digital Services Act (DSA), including being able to demonstrate its capability to identify and swiftly remove illegal content and disinformation.
In an online post published on Thursday, the EC, part of the executive branch of the EU, said it is "investigating X's compliance with the DSA, including with regard to its policies and practices regarding notices on illegal content, complaint handling, risk assessment and measures to mitigate the risks identified."
The company must respond with the requested information about the "activation and functioning of X's crisis response protocol," by 18th October, with a deadline of 31st October for other information, it said.
Should the EC be dissatisfied with X's response, or if answers are not forthcoming, it could open proceedings against the social media company, ultimately imposing fines.
The DSA allows the EC to impose fines of up to 6% of annual global revenue; however, similar sanctions issued under other EU legislation such as GDPR have never come anywhere near this level.
Nevertheless, any fine would add to the platform's already serious financial woes. It has seen a substantial decline in revenues since Musk took over last year.
Responding to Breton's letter, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said X has "redistributed resources and refocused internal teams who are working around the clock to address this rapidly evolving situation."
She continued: "There is no place on X for terrorist organisations or violent extremist groups, and we continue to remove such accounts in real-time, including proactive efforts."
Yaccarino claimed that, "Since the terrorist attack on Israel, we have taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content."
The EU has also written to other social media platforms, including TikTok and Meta, about their policies concerning misinformation and violent material on their sites.