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| The European Union threatens Musk to block Twitter |
The European Union has warned Elon Musk that Twitter could be banned if the social media platform fails to follow content moderation rules, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The British newspaper, quoting people familiar with the matter, said that the European Union's Internal Markets Commissioner Terry Breton issued the warning during a video call with the CEO of Twitter.
On Wednesday, Breton tweeted about his appeal to Musk, saying, "Twitter has a lot to do to enforce a transparent acceptable use policy, encourage moderation in content, and fight misinformation," he added.
According to the Financial Times, Breton said Twitter must abide by a number of rules, including reversing its "arbitrary" practice of restoring suspended accounts and agreeing to a "full independent audit" by 2023.
The regulation relates to the European Union's Digital Services Act, which came into force on November 16. The law covers “detecting, reporting, and removing illegal content.”
Twitter closed its entire Brussels office after Musk took office, raising concerns about compliance with EU countries' internet safety rules.
The layoffs, which began after Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter on Oct. 28, have drawn more attention. The layoffs affected more than half of the company's employees across various departments, including content moderation.
According to the newspaper, Bretton told Musk that he would face an EU-wide ban if Twitter failed to comply with those laws, which would also include a fine of 6% of Twitter's global revenue for each breach.
Musk reportedly told Breton that he believes the EU's Digital Services Act is "very reasonable" and should be applied globally.
Twitter said in a blog post on Wednesday that its policies haven't changed since Musk bought the company for $44 billion. It added that the Trust and Security team "has remained strong and well-resourced, with automated detection (of illegal content) playing an increasingly important role in combating abuse."
Twitter also said, "How we enforce our policies is more about removing objectionable content because allowing free speech does not mean allowing free access."
I welcome @elonmusk's intent to get Twitter 2.0 ready for the #DSA🇪🇺
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) November 30, 2022
Huge work ahead still — as Twitter will have to implement transparent user policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and tackle disinformation.
Looking forward to seeing progress in all these areas. pic.twitter.com/Nc7sGlb9YL