News JVTech Twitter banned in Europe because of Elon Musk: the maddening call to order from the EU!
Published on 01/12/2022 at 17:38
What if Twitter was banned in Europe? The old continent has once again warned Elon Musk to ask him to review the copy of his social network. A call to order that raises several questions.
The problems are piling up for Twitter and Elon Musk
Since billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter for $44 billion, chaos has taken hold of the social network. Not only thousands of employees have been laid offmost some companies have also chosen to leave the platformwhereas other banned users, such as Donald Trump or Kanye West, have been reinstated. We can also add to this list, the end of moderation policies aimed at reducing disinformation on Covid-19. These multiple changes and decision-making worry some regulators, who accuse Elon Musk of increasing hate speech, misinformation and abuse on the social network.
You have to believe that transforming the platform into a haven of freedom of expression can cost you dearly, very dearly. Today, the European Commission has again threatened the tycoon with a banunless Twitter follows strict content moderation rules.
Twitter and Elon Musk: Europe could soon crack down
This new warning, occurred a few hours ago during a video call between Elon Musk and Thierry Bretonthe European Commissioner for the Internal Market. The latter told his interlocutor of the day, that he had to respect a checklist of the rulesregarding its “arbitrary” system of reinstating banned users and agreeing to a “thorough independent audit” for next year.
The European Union had previously urged Elon Musk to comply with its rules against hate speech and online misinformation. Today, the body warns that by not respecting these rules, Twitter runs the risk of breaking the new European law on digital serviceswhich establishes how social networks should control their content.
If companies are found guilty of violations, they face fines of up to 6% of global revenue, or a ban in the event of repeated major infractions. This means Twitter could face a Europe-wide shutdown if it breaks the law.
The European Union is not kidding at all, and the United States too
Among the demands of the EU, Elon Musk urged to set clear criteria on which users can be banned or not. A few days ago, the billionaire had decided to restore donald trump account after conducting a user survey on whether to allow the former president to return to the platform. EU officials have also expressed concern over whether Twitter has enough staff to comply with the new rules.after suffering a series of massive layoffs this month.
On the other hand, the social network is also under scrutiny from the US side, from the authorities focused on foreign investment in the platform. As mentioned in this Financial Times articlethe latest title filings show that Prince Al-Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia recently transferred the equivalent of $1.89 billion to the new private company part of Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase. A few days ago, US President Joe Biden rightly pointed out that the businessman’s “cooperation” with other countries deserved “to be examined” by the US authorities.
