Elon Musk Twitter Faces Europe Ban Disinformation

It looks like Twitter continues to find itself in hot waters over its non-compliance of the EU’s disinformation regulations. France’s Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot recently took to Twitter to discuss the importance of following guidelines to combat the ongoing issue of fake news on social media.

Barrot’s comments come shortly after Twitter withdrew itself from the voluntary rulebook that stated guidelines for big tech companies like Elon Musk‘s company. Others include Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft, which are all held to a certain standard, participating in a code to facilitate certain obligations from these tech giants. These companies would be following a mandatory Digital Services Act that is set to go into effect in August in the European Union.

The Digital Minister recently told France Info, “Disinformation is one of the gravest threats weighing on our democracies. Twitter, if it repeatedly doesn’t follow our rules, will be banned from the EU.” European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton took to the social media platform to chime in, “Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide.”

Since he acquired Twitter, Musk has continued to champion transparency and freedom of expression. The tech billionaire recently proposed ideas to combat disinformation but it has yet to show substantial changes. Musk has not yet commented on the potential Twitter ban across the EU.

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.
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) May 26, 2023