European Commissioner Thierry Breton warned Elon Musk on Thursday that Twitter must have enough resources to moderate dangerous content by August 25. If not, Musk is at risk of violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). As a result of this European legislation, internet platforms are now legally obliged to combat disinformation, among other things.
“If the technology isn’t ready, they need to have enough resources to bridge the gap. I have spoken with Elon Musk on this particular topic,” Breton told reporters after a meeting at Twitter headquarters.
Breton said he told the Twitter team with Musk over a video call from New York that “there are a few areas that will be critical immediately when the ordinance becomes enforceable.” According to the European Commissioner, this would be ‘mainly everything’ that has to do with child abuse and ‘disinformation in elections’.
Stress test
Breton’s visit to Twitter was part of what the EU called a “stress test” to gauge whether the internet platform was ready to comply with the new rules, despite a massive wave of layoffs since Musk took over Twitter.
During a visit to Paris last week, Musk said he had every intention of complying with the DSA, an ambition the EU welcomes. But with moderator teams decimated, it is doubtful whether Musk will be able to keep his promise.
To comply with the new rules, Twitter, Meta, TikTok and other internet platforms will have to invest heavily in appointing moderators, at a time when the big tech companies are laying off staff.
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