Twitter is once again in the eye of the hurricane, and this time due to a decision that jeopardizes its use on European soil. The platform acquired by Elon Musk has decided to withdraw from the European Union (EU) code of practice against online disinformation that was created in 2018 and sought to eradicate fake news from social networks.
Although Musk defended promoting "free speech" after acquiring Twitter, the tech mogul has decided not to continue applying the code. This change of course has generated multiple reactions among the leaders of the European Union. This Monday, the French Minister for the Digital Transition, Jean Noël Barrot, was very forceful in the face of the facts. Speaking to France Info he said: "If Twitter does not comply with our rules it will be banned, in case of repeat offenses, in the European Union."
And the commissioner responsible for the Internal Market for Industry, Thierry Breton, spoke along the same lines. Through a message posted on his personal Twitter account, he recalled that “obligations remain. You can run but you can't hide. And he warned: “Beyond voluntary commitments, combating disinformation will be a legal obligation under
If Twitter does not comply with the rule that will come into force on August 25, "it will not be welcome in Europe", as Barrot pointed out. While acknowledging that this social network "plays an important role in public debate", he reiterated that "we cannot run the risk that a social network like Twitter is allowed to be taken hostage by supporters of disinformation and that our democracy is seen affected”.
This code was applied to around thirty companies dedicated to digital services. They included Twitter as well as tech giants like Meta, Mozilla, Google, Microsoft and TikTok. These multinationals committed, in writing, to "act in several areas, such as; demonetizing the spread of disinformation; ensuring the transparency of political advertising; empowering users; reinforcing cooperation with fact-checkers; and providing researchers better access to data.
In addition, the standard contains 44 commitments and 128 specific measures. Among them, he highlights the fact that "platforms must mitigate risks such as misinformation or electoral manipulation, cyber violence against women or harm to minors 'online'".
The application of this code will be regularly evaluated by the European Audiovisual Media Services Regulators Group (ERGA), the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), and the Commission. Failure to comply with this rule carries a fine of up to 6 percent of the global annual billing of this service provider; in addition to being able to be temporarily suspended, as Breton pointed out.
