The European Commission has taken the first step toward potentially launching the European Union’s inaugural probe under the Digital Services Act, filing a formal and legally binding request for information from the ‘X’ platform (formerly Twitter) and its owner, Elon Musk, regarding its handling of hate speech, misleading information, and violent terrorist-related content linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The investigation will aim to determine whether the platform complies with the new, stringent rules designed to safeguard user safety online and curb the spread of harmful content.
The ‘X’ platform, headquartered in San Francisco, has until next Wednesday to respond to inquiries about the functionality of its crisis response system. Additional questions must receive responses by October 31st.
The Commission has indicated that its subsequent actions, which may involve formal procedures and sanctions, will be guided by the platform’s responses.
Earlier on Thursday, the platform removed hundreds of accounts associated with the Hamas movement and categorized or removed thousands of pieces of content since the group’s attack on Israel, according to the platform’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino.
Yaccarino detailed ‘X’s efforts to address illegal content disseminated on the platform in response to a warning from a prominent EU official, who requested information on ‘X’s compliance during the Israel-Hamas conflict with the EU’s strict new digital regulations.
Yaccarino stated in a letter posted on the ‘X’ website, “To date, since the outset of the conflict, ‘X’ has identified and removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts from the platform.”
Experts suggest that since billionaire Musk acquired ‘X‘ last year and renamed it, the platform has become not only unreliable but also actively promotes falsehoods.
