Twitter Agrees To Comply With EU Anti-Disinformation Regulations

(CTN News) – A team of European Commission officials entered Twitter’s headquarters to stress test its capacity to operate legally in the European Union, and Twitter has agreed to comply with tough new EU laws on fake news, Russian propaganda, and online crime.

It comes less than a week after Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, resigned from the bloc’s voluntary code of practice on disinformation.

On Thursday, EU officials visited Twitter’s headquarters as part of a first-of-its-kind exercise to test the company’s controls on Russian propaganda, fake news, and criminal activity, such as child exploitation.

According to Thierry Breton, the commissioner responsible for enforcing the new Digital Services Act, the company voluntarily agreed to take part in the test.

He reiterated his warning to all social media companies that the EU would act swiftly and strongly to enforce the sweeping new laws that will come into effect in August.

The fight against online crime cannot be conducted on a half-hearted basis. In order to be ready for the new European rules, very large online platforms will have to put in place the appropriate internal controls and resources.” he said.

In the wake of the new laws taking effect on 25 August, EU fears that Twitter may not comply have increased, with one EU commissioner warning Twitter recently that a “wild west” operation would not be tolerated.

This exercise included checks on recommended content and controls to combat illegal content online, such as child sexual exploitation through social media, as well as Twitter’s approach to disinformation.

Among the 44 companies participating in the EU’s code of practice, Google and Facebook are among those that are helping social media platforms prepare for the new laws.

Musk was warned by the EU that he might face a complete ban in Europe or fines amounting to 6% of its global revenue if he does not comply with the law.

According to Breton, who was in Silicon Valley for two days, Twitter still has a long way to go before it is ready to launch. Twitter is taking the exercise seriously and has identified the key areas on which it needs to focus in order to comply with the DSA.

In order for the systems to be in place and work effectively and quickly within two months of the new EU regulation taking effect, work needs to continue in order to make sure that the systems are ready and in place.

I advised Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino [Twitter’s chief executive] to be very diligent in their preparations to address illegal content in the European Union.

As we enter a period of European elections, we will also focus on combating disinformation, including pro-Russian propaganda.

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