X, formerly known as Twitter, has removed hundreds of accounts linked to Hamas. The company owned by Elon Musk responds in this way to the 24-hour ultimatum of Thierre Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market and Services of the European Union, who denounced the dissemination of “illegal content” on the platform related to the attack on Israel.
Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino reported in a letter that they have also removed or tagged tens of thousands of content related to Hamas attacks. He highlighted that the company had “redeployed resources and refocused internal teams who are working around the clock to address this rapidly evolving situation.”
Breton had complained, in a communication to Elon Musk, that Twitter had not removed “patently false or misleading” material. This, despite the denunciation of several organizations and media.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Musk said in an exchange of messages with Breton in “You are well aware of reports from your users—and from authorities—about false content and glorification of violence,” Breton responded.
Yaccarino, for his part, said this Thursday that on Twitter “there is no place” for “terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups.” The CEO, in office since last June, stressed that they will continue to eliminate these accounts in real time.
Hamas attack as a key test for Twitter and other networks
In May, Twitter abandoned the European Union’s voluntary code to limit misinformation on social networks. Besides, a report The bloc warned in September that the platform contained more false information than any other.
But Elon Musk made it even more complicated in recent days, after he recommended accounts on Twitter that had posted false claims or anti-Semitic comments. «To follow the war in real time, @WarMonitors and @sentdefender are good. It is also worth following direct sources on the ground », he published last Sunday. Both accounts, for example, spread fake news in May about an explosion at the Pentagon.
But the wake-up call from the European Union did not reach Musk alone. Commissioner Breton sent respective letters to Meta and TikTok, also warning about the misinformation surrounding the Hamas attack. “Given that your platform is widely used by children and adolescents, you have a particular obligation to protect them from violent content,” the official said in the TikTok case.
The conflict between Hamas and Israel is one of the first major tests for the European Union’s newly enacted Digital Markets Law, which came into force in August. The rule forces social networks to intensify surveillance of their platforms, looking for illegal content, such as terrorist material or illegal hate speech. It contemplates fines of up to 6% of the company’s global turnover or even the suspension of its service.