Twitter Inc. owner Elon Musk will have to increase the number of moderators in Europe, according to Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner.
(Bloomberg) — Twitter Inc. owner Elon Musk will have to increase the number of moderators in Europe, according to Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner.
“He is in the process of reducing a certain number of moderators, but he will have to increase them in Europe,” Breton told Franceinfo in an interview. “He will have to open his algorithms. We will have control, we will have access, people will no longer be able to say rubbish.”
Breton earlier warned that Twitter would have to “fly by our rules,” shortly after Musk closed his $44 billion takeover last month.
The EU’s Digital Services Act gives governments more power to enforce rules governing how tech companies moderate content and to decide when they must take down illegal content. The DSA specifically will also force companies to moderate content in the languages they operate in.
If Musk doesn’t comply, Twitter will face fines of as much as 6% of annual sales and could even be banned.
Breton said he had proposed establishing a “working relationship” with Musk to discuss Europe’s expectations of the social media platform. “He knows perfectly well what the conditions are for Twitter to continue operating in Europe,” Breton said.
–With assistance from Jillian Deutsch.
(Adds context on EU regulatory powers over tech companies.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
