Elon Musk's twenty-four hours to respond to European authorities over alleged misinformation on his social media X following the outbreak of war in Israel at the weekend is rapidly approaching.
In a letter addressed to Musk on Tuesday, European commissioner Thierry Breton urged Musk to crack down on “violent and terrorist content” circulating on X, or risk investigation and potential penalties.
“Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” he wrote.
Musk was given 24 hours to respond to the request, prompting the Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) owner to ask for a list of violations in return.
He had asked this be published on X "so that the public can see them," singing off the post: "Merci beaucoup."
Breton later posted: "You are well aware of your users’ — and authorities’— reports on fake content and glorification of violence.
"Up to you to demonstrate that you walk the talk. My team remains at your disposal."
Musk then hit back claiming actions should be taken openly, adding: "No back room deals."
Following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against ????????, we have indications of X/Twitter being used to disseminate illegal content & disinformation in the EU.
Urgent letter to @elonmusk on #DSA obligations ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/avMm1LHq54
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) October 10, 2023
Musk had been told to be “transparent and clear” on what is allowed on the site, which was formerly known as Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR).
He was also urged to respond to the EU’s notices over the alleged illegal content in a “timely” manner, alongside implementing measures to mitigate against such posts.
According to Breton, fake and manipulated images and facts have circulated on X claiming to relate to the war, including repurposed footage of past conflicts and even clips from video games.
Fighting broke out between Israel and Palestinian militants from the Hamas group on Saturday, after the latter launched attacks.
Israel subsequently declared war on Hamas, with well over a thousand people estimated to have been killed by fighting between the two since.
X had issued a statement on Tuesday prior to Breton’s letter, laying out changes to its content moderation policy since the war broke out.
“In these situations, X believes that, while difficult, it's in the public's interest to understand what's happening in real-time,” a tweet from X read.
In the past couple of days, we’ve seen an increase in daily active users on @X in the conflict area, plus there have been more than 50 million posts globally focusing on the weekend’s terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas.
As the events continue to unfold rapidly, a cross-company…
— Safety (@Safety) October 10, 2023
However, Breton raised concern over the changes, suggesting they had left many European users of the site “uncertain”.
Prompting Musk to respond within 24 hours, Breton added: “I remind you that following the opening of a potential investigation and a finding of non-compliance, penalties can be imposed.”