Elon Musk Resists EU Call to Crack Down on Israel-Hamas War Misinformation
Twitter/X is facing growing criticism for hosting misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war. But don’t expect Elon Musk to do much about it.
Twitter’s owner is resisting a call from the European Union to crack down on the misinformation, with Musk telling users on Wednesday, “I still don’t know what they’re talking about!”
Musk made the statement a day after European Commissioner Thierry Breton sent a letter to Musk, which says the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war had caused “illegal content and disinformation” to spread to Twitter users based in the EU.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, social media companies including Twitter/X need to take measures to stop disinformation and other illegal content from going viral on their platforms. But according to Breton, the problematic content, including fake images related to the Israel-Hamas war, have been circulating on Twitter “despite flags from relevant authorities” and reporting from the media.
“I urge you to ensure a prompt, accurate and complete response to this request within the next 24 hours,” Breton wrote, later adding, “I remind you that following the opening of a potential investigation and a finding of non-compliance, penalties can be imposed.”
In response, Musk took to Twitter/X and called on Breton to cite specific examples. “Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports,” he wrote. “Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that that the public can see them.”
To that, Breton said, “You are well aware of your users’ —and authorities’—reports on fake content and glorification of violence. Up to you to demonstrate that you walk the talk. My team remains at your disposal to ensure DSA compliance,
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