EU launches ‘illegal content’ probe into Elon Musk’s X related to Hamas’ attack in Israel
- The action is the first against a major platform since the EU implemented legislation that strengthens online companies’ responsibility for content moderation
- If found in violation, the platform could face penalties that can include fines going up to six per cent of its global revenues
The EU on Monday announced “formal infringement proceedings” against Elon Musk’s X platform under a law cracking down on illegal online content, after identifying disinformation related to Hamas’s October 7 attack in Israel.
The action against the company formerly known as Twitter is the first against a major online platform since Brussels implemented the Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping piece of European Union legislation that strengthens online companies’ responsibility for content moderation.
“Today’s opening of formal proceedings against X makes it clear that, with the DSA, the time of big online platforms behaving like they are ‘too big to care’ has come to an end,” said the bloc’s digital enforcer, EU commissioner Thierry Breton.
“We will now start an in-depth investigation of X’s compliance with the DSA obligations concerning countering the dissemination and amplification of illegal content and disinformation in the EU, transparency of the platforms and design of the user interface.”
The European Commission said a preliminary information-gathering investigation it launched against X in October, which included looking at “the dissemination of illegal content in the context of Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel”, led to Monday’s probe.