X’s response to Musk: How he and the tech giants are monitoring the Digital Services Act (Documents on the Digital Rights Act)
While the letter from X’s CEO sounded diplomatic, Musk was much more forthcoming in his response to Breton, pushing for the commissioner to list specific violations on the platform publicly. “We take our actions in the open,” Musk wrote. There were no back room deals.
The pair had a public exchange. Breton gave Musk a deadline to respond, but he wanted Musk to give more details publicly. He said his people would be in touch. The billionaire shot back with no backroom deals. Breton’s next post on X invited his followers to join him on Bluesky, a competing social media platform.
The Digital Services Act is a rule book for the internet giants designed to protect human rights and limit the spread of illegal content online. Big Tech executives have embraced meetings with the 68-year-old as part of his role. He has been working with social media companies to educate them about the new rules. The Frenchman traveled to Texas to meet Musk and obtain a video pledge from him that the platform would comply with the regulation.
A source that works with the Breton team says that the candidate wants to stay in the press cycle for as long as possible before the elections.
Combating War-related Misinformation with Community Notes on EDRi, Meta, NBC News and Musk: Concerns from the Brussels War Crime Commission
This is “really the exact thing we worried would happen if we give enforcement powers to a political commission: using the threat of powers it has to make platforms do things they aren’t actually obliged to do,” says Jan Penfrat, senior policy adviser at Brussels-based digital rights group, EDRi. The EU official said they are 100 percent in line with the DSA’s procedures, but they are not authorized to speak publicly.
There are numerous reports of misinformation and propaganda surrounding the war in Israel. Some of the examples gathered by The Guardian include videos being shared out of context with millions of views. Separately, researchers claim to have discovered a propaganda network of 67 accounts posting false and inflammatory content about the war.
X is using Community Notes in an effort to combat misinformation on the platform, and over 700 unique notes are being shown on the platform relating to the attacks. A report from NBC News exposed the strain the volunteer-powered system is under with some community notes taking hours or even days to be approved, and other posts failing to be labeled at all.
EU laws can cause severe financial penalties, if the spread of misinformation goes undetected, if they are fired off to top social media executives.
The chief executive of Meta was given an ultimatum to lay out a plan to fight war-related misinformation and fake posts within 24 hours.
There are a number of fakes on your platforms and a few still appear online according to the EU.
“X is proportionately and effectively assessing and addressing identified fake and manipulated content during this constantly evolving and shifting crisis,” Yaccarino wrote in her letter to Breton. “In good faith, we’ve diligently taken proactive actions to remove content that violates our policies, including: violent speech, manipulated media and graphic media.”
Adding further confusion is Musk’s changes last year to the platform’s verification policies. A blue check mark is a coveted symbol of credible news organizations, and anyone willing to pay a monthly fee can get it. The arrangement of averification marks on the site has contributed to a lot of chaos, according to misinformation experts.
The Digital Services Act and a “Nonrepressive” New Look at Black Holes and Other Cyber-Hot Hostile Sites
The Digital Services Act is one of the toughest online safety laws in the world and it has caused the swift response. The law carries stiff fees for tech companies that violate the rules.
Penalties that far exceed what any U.S. authority has ever imposed are possible under the law, if social media platforms fail to quickly remove posts inciting violence, featuring manipulated media, or any kind of hate speech.
Yaccarino stated that there is no place on X for terrorist organizations or violent extremists, and they continue to remove such accounts in real time.
Our teams work around the clock to make our platforms safe, take action on content that violates our policies, and encourage third-party fact-checkers in the region to limit the spread of misinformation. We’ll continue this work as this conflict unfolds,” said Meta spokesman Al Tolan.
“I remind you that the DSA requires that the risk of amplification of fake and manipulated images and facts generated with the intention to influence elections is taken extremely seriously in the content of mitigation measures,” Breton wrote to Zuckerberg.
