Elon Musk’s X is being investigated by the EU over its efforts to fight disinformation and dangerous content material.
The social media platform, previously often called Twitter, is the primary to be probed underneath the bloc’s Digital Companies Act.
It got here into drive in November 2022 and requires giant on-line firms to do extra to sort out unlawful content material and perceived safety dangers.
The landmark inquiry into X comes after Mr Musk clashed with European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who warned the billionaire to do extra to sort out disinformation concerning the Israel-Hamas war.
Mr Breton additionally wrote to Meta, TikTok, and Google to remind them of their obligations underneath the act, and every highlighted steps they have been taking to battle pretend information.
However solely X has obtained a proper request for data underneath the laws.
The corporate mentioned it might adjust to the regulatory course of.
EU involved about X’s fact-checking
The investigation will cowl X’s neighborhood notes function, which permits customers to flag false or deceptive content material.
An EU Fee spokesperson mentioned it was involved concerning the function’s effectiveness.
It has largely taken the place of Twitter’s {old} fact-checking workforce, which Mr Musk gutted throughout mass lay-offs after buying the corporate final October.
Mr Musk himself has been fact-checked by the system, however claimed it was being gamed by state actors.
The investigation may also look into the change of coverage round verification, with the once sought-after blue ticks now granted to anyone who pays a monthly subscription.
The fee mentioned the probe would come with additional requests for data, interviews, and inspections.
Ought to X be present in breach of the act, it may face a wonderful of as much as 6% of its world turnover.