Twitter’s decision Another blow to Elon Musk’s back to stop implementing his COVID-19 misinformation policy.
“In my view, Twitter is now jumping in front of the queue of regulators,” Vera Jourova, European Commission vice president for values and transparency, told POLITICO.
“Mr. Kasturi wants to attract too much attention,” he said when asked about the Commission’s stand on Twitter’s decision not to remove falsehoods related to the ongoing global pandemic. Succeeded in attracting attention, that too with the recent decision not to assess COVID-related disruption.”
On Wednesday, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton held a video call with Twitter’s CEO, telling him his company was not ready for the block’s upcoming content moderation reform, known as Digital Services Act, They both agreed that the European Commission would conduct a stress test at the social media platform’s headquarters in early 2023.
According to a commission readout of Breton’s call with Musk, “there is still enormous work ahead, as Twitter must implement transparent user policies, significantly strengthen content moderation and protect freedom of speech.” Disinformation has to be tackled and targeted advertising has to be limited.” The French commissioner also said that Twitter needed sufficient personal and technical capacity to comply with Europe’s upcoming regulations, and that he would monitor its progress.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Since the acquisition of Musk’s social media platform in October, nearly all of the company’s content moderation and public policy teams have either been fired or have left the company. EU and national regulators have veiled Musk no longer has enough staff to enforce the block’s current and future content regulations.
Adding to regulators’ frustration is that this latest move on misinformation related to COVID-19 is a conscious decision by Musk — not a side effect of layoffs and resignations that can be offset with new employees. This is another step towards making Twitter a haven for “free speech absolutists”[s],” as the South African-born billionaire has also restored previously banned accounts, including Former US President Donald Trump,
respect gentlemen’s consent
Yet despite the rhetoric, policy makers currently have few powers to compel social media platforms to act against misleading information about the ongoing pandemic. And the Digital Services Act will come into force only in early 2024.
The EU’s main vehicle for fighting disinformation, the Code of Conduct, is voluntary. COVID-19 misinformation is not illegal in most cases, so Twitter is not breaking the block’s existing rules regulating online platforms.
However, Jarova, who played a key role in EU efforts against online falsehood, said she hoped Twitter would “fully respect EU law and honor its commitments”. code of conduct on propaganda, first signed in 2018 and updated this year—including devoting resources and reporting results to fake news. “Twitter has been a very useful partner in the fight against disruptive information and illegal hate speech, and that should not change,” he added.
Prior to its COVID-19 policy change, Twitter had previously voluntarily removed content and accounts that posted “clearly false or misleading” content that “could give rise to a significant risk of harm”, including anti- -Wax profile also included. As of May 2022, Twitter – along with Meta, Alphabet and others – also published regular updates within the European Union about their actions to remove COVID-19 falsehoods from their platform.
A spokesperson for the commission said of the policy change, “We regret this step taken by Twitter, as the proactive steps taken by the social media platform” were effective measures to reduce the spread of disinformation.
Under the updated code, pledges made by the company prior to the Musk acquisition include “reporting obligations on measures, adequate financial and human resources as well as appropriate internal processes to ensure the implementation of their commitments,” the spokesperson warned. . The report is expected in January.
It is not just Brussels that is sharpening its knives. French Digital Minister Jean-Noel Barot, who has been regularly sending warnings on his Twitter account, did not appreciate the change in Twitter’s policy on COVID-related misinformation. “Misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccinations [are] Now freely available on Twitter. Another milestone in irresponsibility has been reached.” he tweeted,
Cedric O, the former digital minister of the French government is already label Twitter (before the Musk takeover) was one of the least cooperative platforms after the company removed Kremlin-backed RT France and Sputnik.
For Anna Brakus, executive director of Factograph, a fact-checking organization that is a signatory to the EU’s new exercise on misinformation, Musk’s ability to change Twitter’s content rules at a stroke is a clear example of how regulatory companies can Can’t take ‘ word for how they deal with potentially harmful content online.
“It’s really a cautionary tale of how regulators sometimes move slowly, especially compared to these platforms,” she said. “When a company’s leadership wants to implement major changes, it can do so.”
This article has been updated.