European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton shared a similar letter to Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling on him to be “vigilant” about removing disinformation related to the Israel-Hamas war on Meta’s platforms.
The #DSA is here to protect free speech against arbitrary decisions, and at the same time protect our citizens & democracies.
My requests to #Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel — and on tackling disinformation in elections in the EU ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/RnetUriRJX
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) October 11, 2023
A day earlier, Breton posted a similar letter to X owner Elon Musk. In each, the EU regulator asked for a response within 24 hours.
The letter said the EU has noted an increase of illegal content and disinformation on “certain platforms,” seemingly referring to Facebook, Instragram and Threads, Meta’s answer to Twitter.
Meta is obligated to remove such content, including terrorist content and illegal hate speech, under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Failure to do so could result in fines of up to 6% of a company’s annual revenue.
Breton also asked Zuckerberg to address deepfakes and other political disinformation ahead of elections in Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania and elsewhere.
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