Brussels investigates X and TikTok for spreading terrorist propaganda about the war between Israel and Hamas

The European Commission (EC) is investigating the social networks X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok for spreading illegal content and terrorist propaganda from the war between Israel and Hamas. The EC will check whether

In the case of the Chinese social network, the EC gave it a notice for containing “terrorist propaganda” after the attack and asked it to take measures to eliminate it, taking into account that it is a platform used by minors.

A request for information to X

At the beginning of this week, Brussels had asked X for explanations about the measures it will take to eliminate terrorist content that, according to the Commission, is circulating on the platform after the Hamas attack on Israel.

“The Digital Services Act is here to protect both our freedom of expression and our democracies, including in times of crisis. We have sent X a formal request for information, the first step in our investigation to determine whether they comply with the DSA,” European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wrote in X.

The EU Executive said it is examining X's policies and practices regarding warnings about illegal content, the handling of complaints, risk assessment and measures to mitigate identified risks, according to a statement.

The social media giant led by Elon Musk will have to respond to the request for information before October 18, in the case of the operation of its crisis response protocol, and before October 31, in the case of the rest of questions that Brussels asks you.

A fine of up to 6% of your annual turnover

The Digital Services Law allows the EU to impose fines if X's response is “incorrect, incomplete or confusing”, as well as if the platform does not respond to your request for information. Ultimately, an investigation could end in a fine for the company of up to 6% of its annual worldwide turnover.

Due to its size, the exercise of fundamental rights, the rights of minors, public safety and mental well-being,” Brussels recalled.

Beyond the digital services law, in force since this year, there is also the regulation on the fight against the dissemination of terrorist content on the Internet, which obliges platforms to eliminate them within one hour from the moment they are ordered to do so. national authorities.

X has “deleted or tagged” messages about the war

In response to this claim from the European Commission, the company's main executive, Linda Yaccarino, has published a letter on the social network in which she assures that X has “deleted or labeled tens of thousands” of messages about the war between the Islamist group and Israel and has also deleted “hundreds” of accounts linked to the Islamist group.

“There is no room in X for terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups and we continue to eliminate these accounts in real time, which includes proactive efforts,” said the executive, who has “redistributed resources and refocused internal teams” for this work.

In addition to deleting thousands of messages, X has deleted “hundreds” of Hamas-affiliated accounts in accordance with its policies against violent entities, he added.. It has also assured that the platform eliminates “illegal content, including terrorist content”, in accordance with its internal policies, and as for those contents that are “harmful, but not illegal”, it includes a notice that “limits” the scope of the publications.

Yaccarino pointed out that some 700 “community notes” are adding context to a multitude of content on X about the conflict and another 5,000 notes specifically accompany widely shared images and videos with context.

A warning to TikTok

Thierry Breton also wrote a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, asking him to explain what measures he will take.. “Given that many users, particularly minors, turn to their platform as a news source, reliable sources must be properly differentiated from terrorist propaganda,” he said.

In addition, he pointed out the “special obligation” that he believes Shou Zi Chew has to protect children and adolescents “from violent content depicting hostage-taking and other graphic videos that are reported to be circulating on its platform.” “he said, referring to the Israeli citizens that Hamas has captured.