European Union launches process to evaluate X platform
The European Union (EU) has launched a formal process to evaluate whether the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, has violated the Digital Services Act (DSA).
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In a statement from the EU Commission, it was reported that the process will determine whether X has violated the DSA regarding risk management, content moderation, the practice of "dark patterns" designed to steer or discourage users for the benefit of a brand, advertising transparency, and data access.
It was stated that the Commission initiated the formal process regarding the violation of the law based on a preliminary investigation conducted following the documents submitted by the X company and its responses to official requests for information regarding disinformation, illegal, and harmful content spread after "Hamas's attacks on Israel."
The statement noted that evidence will continue to be gathered by sending official information requests to the X company, as well as through meetings and examinations. It was also recalled that the initiation of the formal process grants the Commission the authority to impose sanctions such as "interim measures" and "non-compliance decisions."
EU Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager of Denmark commented on the decision, stating, "We take any breach of our rules very seriously, and the evidence we currently have is sufficient to launch an investigation against X. The Commission will carefully investigate X's compliance with the DSA to ensure that European citizens are protected in the online environment."
No date was provided regarding when the formal process will be completed.
On October 12, the EU had launched an investigation into X's compliance with the Union's online rules, citing "disinformation, illegal, and harmful content spread after Hamas's attacks on Israel."
NEW DIGITAL RULES
The EU's law, which came into effect in August, introduced strict rules for large digital platforms.
The EU can impose fines of up to 6 percent of their global turnover on digital platforms that violate the rules. In the event of repeated violations, the operations of the digital platforms in question can be terminated within the EU.
In October, the EU had announced that investigations were also launched into Meta and TikTok following X.