Elon Musk and Thierry Breton met by videoconference at the end of November to talk about Twitter and the European DSA regulation. For Brussels, it is good that Elon Musk approves of the DSA. Now we have to walk the walk.
There is still work to do. This, in summary, is the European impression of Twitter’s compliance with the DSA (Digital Services Act), a brand new regulation that imposes a framework for certain digital companies like Twitter. A feeling that the Commission wanted to convey to Elon Musk, during a videoconference on November 30, 2022.
On this occasion, the European commissioner in charge of the internal market expressed his satisfaction to know that the future Twitter – dubbed Twitter 2.0 — will be ready for DSA. ” I am glad to hear that he has read it carefully and considers it a reasonable approach to implement globally “, he added on his Mastodon account.
This is not the first time the two officials have been in contact. In May, they had seen each other in the USA. In October, there had been a call to order.
Elon Musk says he agrees. But it remains to match the action to the word
But reading it is one thing, accepting it too. Putting it into practice is another. On this subject, Brussels is waiting to see: “ let’s be clear: there is still a lot of work to do, as Twitter will need to implement transparent usage policies, significantly strengthen content moderation and protect free speech, resolutely tackle misinformation and limit advertising targeted “.
However, Elon Musk’s recent decisions for Twitter do not necessarily send the signals that the European Commission would like to see. In recent days, it has been seen that the social network has ended its policy against disinformation on the coronavirus and decided to lift the exclusion of accounts that have been banned in the past.
Exempting oneself from the instructions issued by the DSA is tantamount to taking the risk of suffering strong European sanctions. In the event of breach of obligations, Brussels has the possibility of imposing fines on companies of up to 6% of their worldwide turnover. If the breaches are serious and repeated, Brussels can also demand a ban on operating in Europe.
