Brussels opened a “formal investigation” on Monday targeting the social network X (formerly Twitter), accused of alleged breaches of European rules on content moderation and transparency. This is a first under the new European legislation on digital services (DSA).
“By adopting a new regulatory framework, Europe is finally able to act to protect the democratic values of our continent. This investigation is a first, and constitutes a real crash test of credibility for the system level” judges Constantin Pavléas, lawyer specializing in new technology law. “Appearing on the list established last April, X is considered a “very large platform” within the meaning of the DSA (threshold of 45 million active users in the European area). As such, increased transparency and additional systemic risk management obligations.
X is in detail accused of not having enough moderators, of not having effective reporting of illegal content, or of not communicating effectively enough with the regulator.
“Protect our citizens and our democracies”
“The days when large online platforms behaved as if they were too big to worry about the rules are over,” declared the European Commissioner for Digital, Thierry Breton, stressing that the new legislation now makes it possible to “protect our citizens and our democracies.
X said Monday it remained “committed to complying with the regulations” and promised to cooperate. “It is important that this process remains free of any political influence,” he stressed in a message posted on the platform.
“Are you taking action against other social media? Because if you have these problems with this platform, and none of them are perfect, the others are much worse,” Elon Musk replied on his social network .
“EU investigation into X will most likely result in a fine”
“If the EU imposed a significant sanction, it would show its desire to attack monopolistic Big Tech companies” assures Hugo Shapero, analyst at GlobalData. “The EU’s investigation into , like X, will face increased legal pressure, fines, or even an EU-wide ban as a last resort.”
The European Commission had already announced on October 12 the opening of a preliminary procedure regarding “false information”, “violent and terrorist content” and “hate speech”, targeting Elon Musk’s social network. This first step consisted of a request for information to verify compliance with the obligations by the platform.
The responses provided by the American company, as well as its “transparency report” published at the beginning of November to take stock of its means of moderation, do not seem to have convinced the European executive.
“Since Musk’s takeover, X has made little effort to comply with EU regulations”
The DSA provides for fines of up to 6% of the global turnover of the group in question. In the event of serious and repeated violations, a platform may even be banned from operating in the EU.
“Since Musk’s takeover, X has made little effort to comply with EU regulations, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon,” judges Hugo Shapero, however.