The European Union on Monday announced formal ‘infringement proceedings against Elon Musk’s social media platform X as part of a crackdown on illegal online content. The EU action comes after it identified ‘disinformation’ related to October 7 attacks by Palestinian terror group on Israel.
It is the first action against a major online platform since Belgium implemented the Digital Services Act, a part of EU legislation that strengthens online firms' responsibility for content moderation, AFP reported.
“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,” EU commissioner Thierry Breton said.
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"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, Breton added.
According to the European Commission, preliminary information-gathering investigation was carried out 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.
{{/usCountry}}According to the European Commission, preliminary information-gathering investigation was carried out 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.
{{/usCountry}}The Commission has decided to open formal infringement proceedings against X under the Digital Services Act.
The formal EU probe will examine the dissemination of illegal content, the effectiveness of X's efforts to combat disinformation, suspected restrictions on giving researchers access to its data, and suspected deceptive practices -- known as “dark patterns”.
If proved, the law carries penalties that can include fines going up to six per cent of an online company's global revenues.
For serious and repeated violations, the EU can ban a platform operating in the 27-nation bloc.
Israel-Hamas war
On October 7, Hamas carried out coordinated strikes on Israel, killing 1,140 people, most of them civilians, and took an estimated 240 people hostage as per latest figures.
Israel retaliated with an intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas.
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More than 18,800 Palestinians -- around 70 percent of them women, young children and adolescents -- have been killed in the Gaza Strip in Israeli bombardments since October 7, as per Hamas.
(With AFP inputs)