The Brussels office is no longer, according to reports, which could make it more difficult for the company to comply with new European Union regulations regarding content moderation. The number of people employed in the office after new owner Elon Musk. The other leaders, Julia Mozer and Dario La Nasa, left Twitter last week, according to the — just as Musk told employees to commit to his vision of a “hardcore” Twitter 2.0.
Mozer and NASA have overseen public policy for Twitter in Europe. They were responsible for efforts to ensure Twitter adheres to the EU Disinformation Code as well as the . The DSA came into force last week and will apply to businesses. This gives EU governments more power over how platforms moderate content and when tech companies must remove illegal content. Platforms will need to be transparent about the reasons for content moderation decisions. Affected users will have the right to challenge moderation decisions if their content is removed or access to it is restricted.
If Twitter fails to comply with the DSA rules, it faces severe penalties. Regulators could fine Twitter up to six percent of its global revenue or even ban the platform. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said Twitter must abide by the bloc’s content regulations.
Twitter no longer has a communication service to which comments can be requested. Musk that the “general idea” is to limit moderation rules to “illegal content”. A few minutes earlier, he to answer him “all that Twitter must settle” in terms of child exploitation on the platform. Legal content regulations can vary widely by jurisdiction (Germany has some pretty strict social media edicts, for example), and having fewer staff dedicated to ensuring Twitter follows the rules could make it more difficult for the company to do so.
“I am concerned by the news of the dismissal of so many Twitter employees in Europe,” said Věra Jourová, EU vice president in charge of the bloc’s disinformation code. FinancialTimes. “If you want to detect and act effectively against disinformation and propaganda, it takes resources. Especially in the context of the Russian disinformation war, I expect Twitter to fully respect EU law and honor its commitments.”
Meanwhile, several Democratic senators must determine whether the company violated consumer protection laws or violated a consent decree with the agency. Among other things, the latter requires Twitter to review new features for potential privacy issues. Earlier this month, Twitter engineers must “self-certify” that they comply with FTC rules and other laws. The FTC recently said it “is following recent developments on Twitter with deep concern.”
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