EU opens probe into X over Israel-Hamas war misinformation
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The EU has opened an investigation into X, formerly Twitter, over the way illegal content and disinformation of terrorist and violent content is spreading on its platform in the wake of the attacks by Hamas against Israel.
EU officials have sent a series of questions that the social media platform must answer by next week, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The formal probe, which is the first to be launched under the newly approved Digital Services Act, comes days after EU commissioner Thierry Breton wrote to billionaire Elon Musk raising concerns that the platform was “being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation”.
Failure to reply or a submission of incomplete or misleading information by X could lead to periodic penalties or fines amounting to up to 5 per cent of the company’s daily global turnover, the people said.
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EU investigators are also seeking to find out how X is preparing to react during a “crisis” and what protocols it has in place to deal with misinformation. The company is required to reply to the commission by the end of the month.
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