Twitter Faces Pressure to Align With EU Digital Rulebook, Says Top Official

European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton and his colleagues in San Francisco assessed Twitter's compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The stress test aimed to determine Twitter's content filtering skills and assure compliance with the new EU rules that will take effect on August 25.

The experiment is part of the EU's attempts to encourage compliance with the broad new legislation and remind key digital platforms of their content filtering duties, according to CNN.

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, participated in a "constructive dialogue" with Commissioner Breton during the visit via videoconference. The company's management of suggested material, preventing unlawful online activity like child sexual exploitation, and dealing with misinformation were just a few of the topics examined by the stress test.

The EU Commissioner did not provide the precise results, but he did praise Twitter for its sincere dedication to the exercise, which the site willingly decided to carry out.

Thierry Breton added that during his visit this week, he had booked talks with senior officials from Alphabet, Meta, OpenAI, and Nvidia. His visit includes discussing the upcoming artificial intelligence laws for the European Union.

He said that the European Parliament recently passed the AI Act, a legal framework that supports the Digital Services Act and other European regulations about competition and privacy. With the help of these rules, artificial intelligence will be efficiently regulated in the EU.

Severe Penalties For Violators

Large social media sites like Twitter must abide by several content transparency and moderation rules under the DSA. This includes a ban on child-specific targeted advertising. The DSA carries stiff penalties for tech companies will violate the legislation, per The Guardian.

In addition to reiterating the EU's commitment to rapidly enforcing the new legislation, EU Commissioner Breton asked all social media businesses to set up internal controls and devote enough resources to comply with the strict rules.

The EU's code of conduct, created to help social media platforms be ready for the DSA's implementation, has 44 corporations participating, including well-known internet giants like Google and Facebook. The EU has warned Musk that breaking the rule may have serious repercussions, including a complete European ban or significant penalties equal to 6% of the company's worldwide sales.

More Stress Tests To Come

The team in charge of Twitter's international government relations said that the business is prepared for the DSA and is "on track" to comply when the new rules take effect. Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Twitter, underscored the company's commitment to the European Union, AP News reported.

In the following weeks, more stress tests will be carried out on other internet platforms, according to Commissioner Breton, but he did not say which platforms would be tested.

In another update, the European Union is wrapping up the AI Act, which will be the world's first comprehensive artificial intelligence law. This nascent technology has raised both enthusiasm and worries regarding possible privacy breaches, work disruptions, copyright infringement, and other problems.

By the end of this year, the AI Act will likely obtain final approval; however, it won't go into effect for another two years. Commissioner Breton has been pushing for a voluntary "AI Pact" to help businesses prepare for its introduction. As enterprises negotiate the obligations described in the AI Act, our program strives to enhance preparation and compliance among them.