EU threatens X with sanctions over 'misinformation about the situation in Israel'

The European Commission has threatened the social network X (formerly Twitter) with sanctions, calling on its president, Elon Musk, to provide clarification within 24 hours on the circulation of "misinformation and violent images related to the conflict in Israel."

Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a letter, "Following the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel, we have information that your platform is being used to spread illegal and misleading content within the European Union."

Hours later, the billionaire responded directly to his network, saying: "Our policy is to have everything open and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports."

Since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Saturday morning, social media networks have been flooded with images and videos containing images of killing and destruction, as well as attempts to mislead, challenging the platforms' content moderation teams.

In his letter dated 10 October, the European Commissioner wrote: "We have received, from reliable sources, a report of potentially illegal content circulating on your network despite notifications from the competent authorities."

Britton Musk reminded that "when you receive reports of illegal content in the EU, you must act quickly, seriously and objectively and withdraw the content when it is justified."

Breton is based on new European legislation on digital services, which has been in place since the end of August on 19 major platforms.

After buying Twitter last year, Musk sacked all content moderation teams, while constantly emphasizing his vision for free speech and rejecting any "censorship", although stressing that his platform respects each country's laws in this area.

At the end of September, the European Commission expressed concern about the rate of misinformation on X, citing poor results recorded during tests on a number of platforms.

Since last week, links and newspaper articles shared on the platform appear as an image without a title or description, which could lead to a decline in the use of real information sites.

Thierry Breton reminded US President Joe Biden of his "very clear commitments" to moderate content.

"You must demonstrate great transparency and clarity regarding the content permitted by your Terms of Use and apply your own policies consistently and seriously," the commissioner wrote.