The European Union’s executive arm will conduct a stress test at Twitter Inc.’s headquarters early next year as the bloc’s digital chief warned Elon Musk he has “huge work ahead” to comply with content moderation laws.
(Bloomberg) — The European Union’s executive arm will conduct a stress test at Twitter Inc.’s headquarters early next year as the bloc’s digital chief warned Elon Musk he has “huge work ahead” to comply with content moderation laws.
“Twitter will have to implement transparent user policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and protect freedom of speech, tackle disinformation with resolve, and limit targeted advertising,” Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wrote in a readout following the meeting. “All of this requires sufficient AI and human resources, both in volumes and skills. I look forward to progress in all these areas and we will come to assess Twitter’s readiness on site.”
Breton said the stress test will help Twitter to comply with the EU’s new Digital Services Act ahead of key deadlines and to prepare for a mandatory independent audit.
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The European warning also came as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Musk’s purchase of Twitter would warrant a government review if deemed to raise national security concerns, walking back her previous comments that played down the need for scrutiny.
If there are risks in general, “it would be appropriate for Cfius to take a look,” she said Wednesday at a New York Times event in New York, referring to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which she leads.
In Europe, the DSA requires companies to take down illegal content and take a more aggressive approach on handling disinformation and hate speech. Companies could face fines up to 6% its annual sales, or even be banned from the platform if they continually break the rules.
Regulators have raised concerns following Musk’s takeover of the influential social media platform. The CEO’s emphasis on free speech and dramatic cuts to the company’s workforce make it more difficult for the company to follow EU laws including upcoming content moderation regulations and existing data protection rules.
Breton has previously warned Musk that he needs to abide by EU legislation. After Musk’s Twitter buyout was finalized the new owner tweeted, “the bird is freed,” Breton responded: “In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules.”
EU Commissioner Warns Musk Twitter Must ‘Fly by Our Rules’
Earlier this year, Breton had also reminded Musk that his free-speech focus on Twitter would be limited by the EU’s content-moderation laws. Breton traveled to Texas in May where the two said there was “no disagreement” over their approach to content.
Concerns among regulators have increased now that more than half of Twitter’s staff has either been fired or resigned. Ireland’s data protection watchdog said this week that it was “very concerned” after the mass exodus of staff and news that a top policy executive in Dublin had to sue the company to keep her job. Twitter representatives have tried to reassure regulators it will follow the EU’s data protection rules.
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