The news was announced on Twitter, by EU’s internal market commissioner Thierry Breton. Breton later took to social media, warning Twitter that it cannot escape from the legal liability consequences that are incoming.
“Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide[…]Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25. Our teams will be ready for enforcement,” Breton wrote.
Herein, he referred to the legal duties that the platform must follow as a "very large online platform" (VLOP) under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).
European Union Disinformation Code
A number of tech firms, small and big, are apparently signed up to the EU’s disinformation code, along with Facebook’s parent company Meta, TikTok, Google, Microsoft and Twitch.
The code, which was introduced in June of last year, seeks to decrease profiteering from fake news and disinformation, increase transparency, and stop the spread of bots and fraudulent accounts. Companies who sign the code are free to decide on the what obligations they want to make, such as working with fact-checkers or monitoring political advertising.
Apparently, since Elon Musk took over Twitter, the company’s moderation has largely reduced, which as per the critics has resulted in a increase in spread of disinformation.
However, experts and former Twitter employees claim that the majority of these specialists left their positions or were fired. The social media company once had a dedicated team that tried to combat coordinated disinformation campaigns.
Last month, BBC exposed hundreds of Russian and Chinese state propaganda accounts lurking on Twitter. However, Musk claims that there is now “less misinformation rather than more,” since he took Twitter’s ownership.
Moreover, the EU, along with its voluntary code has brought in a Digital Service Act- a law which will coerce firms to put more efforts in tackling illegal contents online.
From August 25, platforms with more than 45 million active users per month in the EU—including Twitter—must abide by the DSA's legislative requirements.
Twitter will be required by legislation to implement measures to combat the spread of misinformation, provide users with a way to identify illegal content, and respond "expeditiously" to notifications.
In regards to the issue, AFP news agency on Friday quoted a statement of a EU Commission official saying “If (Elon Musk) doesn’t take the code seriously, then it’s better that he quits.”