European Fee provides “further investigatory measures to X” as a part of its ongoing DSA investigation
The European Fee mentioned on Friday it’s stepping up its investigation into whether or not Elon Musk’s X (previously Twitter) has breached EU guidelines on content material moderation.
The Fee introduced “further investigatory measures to X within the ongoing proceedings underneath the Digital Companies Act”. It has requested X to offer by 15 Feb inside documentation about its recommender system that makes content material solutions to customers, and any current modifications made to it.
It comes after the European Fee had in December 2023 launched its first investigation right into a suspected failure by X to struggle in opposition to disinformation and content material manipulation on the platform.
Content material moderation
In July 2024 the European Union preliminary concluded that underneath the Digital Companies Act (DSA), Elon Musk’s X (previously Twitter) doesn’t adjust to the DSA in key transparency areas.
It cited areas of concern at X that had been linked to darkish patterns, promoting transparency and knowledge entry for researchers.
Elon Musk’s choice in January 2023 to axe most of Twitter’s exterior content material moderation groups, together with 80 % of the Twitter workforce, proved to be controversial, and contributed to an promoting exodus from the platform.
Deepening investigation
However now the EC is requesting further documentation from Elon Musk’s platform, simply days earlier than he attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“Right this moment we’re taking additional steps to make clear the compliance of X’s recommender programs with the obligations underneath the DSA,” acknowledged govt VP for Tech Sovereignty, Safety and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen.
“We’re dedicated to making sure that each platform working within the EU respects our laws, which goals to make the web setting honest, secure, and democratic for all European residents,” mentioned Virkkunen.
In addition to requesting X present inside documentation on its recommender programs and any current modifications made to it, by 15 February, the Fee has additionally issued a ‘retention order’.
This requires X to protect inside paperwork and knowledge relating to future modifications to the design and functioning of its recommender algorithms, for the interval between 17 January 2025 and 31 December 2025, except the Fee’s ongoing investigation is concluded beforehand.
Lastly, the Fee issued a request for entry to sure of X’s industrial APIs, technical interfaces to its content material that permit direct fact-finding on content material moderation and virality of accounts.
Far proper
The transfer comes after Germany’s overseas and defence ministries acknowledged this week they’d refocus their public communications away from X.
Musk has been accused of meddling in European politics, and has known as for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to get replaced, labelled German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “incompetent idiot”, and gave his enthusiastic backing to Alice Weidel, the chief of the far-right Various for Germany (AfG) celebration, throughout a reside interview together with her on X.
Musk’s backing for the far proper noticed dozens of universities, unions and analysis establishments in Germany and Austria announce their intention to drop their presence on X.
Elon Musk has been repeatedly cited by nationwide leaders over his inflammatory tweets in opposition to the governments and leaders of various nations all over the world.
It has been reported that UK counter-extremism unit officers at the moment are monitoring social media posts by Elon Musk and others as a potential safety danger.
