The EU’s first reaction to the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

The Twitter, which is in the process of being acquired by the entrepreneur Elon Musk«should be fully adapted to European rules“, Whatever the directions of the new owner in terms of freedom of expression.

This was emphasized, speaking to AFP, by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton. This warning of the official concerns its new regulation The European Union for digital services, Digital Services Act (DSA), which has been agreed by MEPs and the Member States of the Union and will oblige major platforms to tackle illegal content more effectively.

«Whether it is online harassment, selling counterfeit products, child pornography, incitement to terrorism, Twitter will have to adapt to European regulations that do not exist in the United States.Insisted the commissioner, who had the initiative of the new European legislation together with his counterpart in charge of Competition Margrethe Vesteger.

It is recalled that Musk has promised “more freedomOn Twitter, sparking heated debate about the future of the popular social media, as many worry about setting up a more toxic platform. However, he acknowledged that they exist limits set by laws.

The DSA, which will be implemented when its legislative process is completed in a few months, updates the e-commerce directive, which was born 20 years ago, when technology giants such as Facebook (Meta) or Amazon were in their infancy. The aim is to eliminate illegal zones and abuses on the Internet while defending users’ rights.

The new European regulation imposes its obligation immediate removal any prohibited content (in accordance with national and European law) as soon as one platform realizes it. It also obliges social media to block users who continue to break the law.

Supervision of Brussels

At the heart of the legislation, the new obligations imposed on “very large platforms“, Those who count”more than 45 million active users»In the EU, including Twitter, rebroadcasts the RES EIA. These platforms must assess the risks associated with the use of the services themselves and implement the appropriate means to remove problematic content. They should impose enhanced transparency on their data and recommendation algorithms.

I will are inspected once a year, at their own expense, by independent bodies and will be placed under the supervision of the European Commission, which will be able to impose fines of up to 6% of annual sales in case of repeated violations.

«We now have legislation, which is extremely clear. In order to be eligible to operate in Europe, platforms will need to be adapted to the rulesSaid Thierry Breton. «If it were not for the DSA, we could have a Twitter that would do things that would be against the European general interest“, he said. But, “it is not going to impose its own regulatory framework in Europe, it should be adapted to ours».

In terms of contingency return of Donald Trump on Twitter, Thierry Breton reminded that the DSA also regulates foreclosure decisions, defining the terms and possibilities of appeal. «We will have very clear, very precise, very democratic, very comprehensible rules to decide to exclude a use that may be necessary… For us, the ban will of course be possible and necessary in some cases, but in the context of democratic control».

Source: News Beast

You may also like