Twitter will be required to follow new European Union laws addressing misinformation and hate speech on social media.
EU Commissioner, Thierry Breton, stated this on Friday following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the app.
Breton tweeted, alluding to the social media platform’s logo, “In Europe, the bird will fly by our EU rules.”
He was responding to Elon Musk’s tweet “the bird is free,” in which he announced his takeover hours earlier.
Musk has justified his purchase by citing the need to safeguard and strengthen free speech, with critics afraid that the shift in ownership will result in less monitored content and hence more hate speech.
Breton added “#DSA” to his remark, referring to the EU’s Digital Services Act, a recent landmark rule outlining the obligations of technology and internet businesses.
Companies will be required to filter their platforms for harmful content such as disinformation, as well as implement measures to prevent the spread of dangerous material during crises like the COVID-19 epidemic.
Companies must also improve user interaction transparency and clarify user agreements.
Breton also reminded Musk of comments he made in May about complying with new EU content filtering laws if he bought Twitter.
dpa/NAN
