Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, has received a warning from the European Union regarding alleged disinformation concerning the Hamas attack on Israel.
The EU has accused X of spreading fake news and “repurposed old images” related to the attack.
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This warning comes just two months after the introduction of new EU laws governing social media content under the Digital Services Act.
Under these new laws, Mr Musk could face significant penalties if he fails to comply with the regulations.
Possible consequences include a fine of up to six per cent of X’s revenues or even a complete blackout of the platform within the EU.
Thierry Breton, the commissioner responsible for the Digital Services Act, issued the warning to Musk, urging him to provide a “prompt, accurate, and complete response” within the next 24 hours.
“Let me remind you that the Digital Service Act sets very precise obligations regarding content moderation,” Mr Breton said.
“Given the urgency, I also expect you to be in contact with relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol, and ensure that you respond promptly to their requests,” said in the statement.
He also pointed out that there were indications of X being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel.
These include repurposed old images from unrelated armed conflicts and military footage from video games.
In the response, Mr Musk has requested a list of the violations attributed to X. “Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that the public can see them.”
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