The European Union has threatened Elon Musk with punishment due to incorrect coverage of the war in Israel

The European Union issued a warning to Elon Musk due to “disinformation” on his platform X (formerly Twitter) about a Hamas attack on Israel. Failure to moderate content such as fake news could result in a fine of 6% of X’s revenue or an EU blackout under new laws.

The EU has issued a warning to Elon Musk over alleged disinformation about the Hamas attack on Israel, including fake news and “repurposed old images,” on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

According to The Guardian, Musk’s warning comes less than two months after sweeping new social media content laws seen in the EU came into force under the Digital Services Act.

If Elon Musk, as the owner of X, does not comply with EU requirements, he could face a fine of 6% of his income from X or a complete blackout in the EU.

Thierry Breton, the commissioner responsible for the law, wrote to Musk, urging him to provide a “quick, accurate and complete response” to a request to contact Europol, the EU’s law enforcement police agency, and “relevant law enforcement authorities” within the next 24 hours.

Breton reminded Musk that he needed “proportionate and effective mitigation measures to address the risks to public safety and civil discourse associated with disinformation.”

“Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” Breton wrote. – Public media and civil society organizations have widely reported instances of fake and manipulated images and facts being circulated on your platform in the EU, such as repurposed old images of unrelated armed conflicts or war footage that was actually taken from video games. This appears to be patently false or misleading information.”

“Let me remind you that the Digital Services Act sets out very precise obligations regarding content moderation,” Thierry Breton said in a message to the billionaire, adding that changes to X’s public interest policy raised questions about his compliance with the new rules.

Elon Musk, The Guardian recalls, has abandoned a voluntary code of practice developed by the EU earlier this year to allow social media companies to implement systems that comply with new laws. A number of other companies are participating in the code of practice and are removing misinformation in line with new European rules.

The billionaire responded to Breton on social media X: “Please list the violations you are citing on X so the public can see them.”

Referring to the law’s requirement that platforms regulate their own content under the new laws, Breton responded: “It is up to you to demonstrate that you are negotiating.”

In a strongly worded letter, Breton told Musk: “First, you must be very transparent and clear about what content is permitted under your terms and conditions, and consistently and diligently enforce your own policies. This is especially true when it comes to violent and terrorist content that appears to be circulating on your platform. Your latest changes to public interest policy overnight have left many European users unsure. Secondly, when you receive notices of illegal content in the EU, you must take action promptly, fairly and objectively, and remove the relevant content when warranted. We have received reports from qualified sources of potentially illegal content being distributed on your service despite warnings from the relevant authorities.”

Under new laws, social media companies must respond to complaints about illegal content within 24 hours. They can dispute user complaints, but there is an appeal process for consumers.

Brussels is concerned that Twitter is not responding within 24 hours to complaints about misinformation or other illegal content such as hate speech within the required time frame.

Breton called on Musk to “urgently verify the effectiveness of your systems” and immediately report to the EU on the anti-crisis measures he has taken.

“Given the urgency, I also expect you to maintain contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol and ensure a prompt response to their requests,” Breton added.

In its press briefings on the Digital Services Act, the EU explained that those who do not participate in the voluntary code of practice will not be able to invoke “mitigating” factors if it comes down to punitive measures taken in Brussels.

X has come under scrutiny in the past few days after concerns were raised about fake posts and Elon Musk’s recommendation to cover the war on accounts that made false statements or anti-Semitic comments, The Guardian writes.