Elon Musk’s Twitter has lagged behind Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok in the fight against disinformation over the past six months, the European Commission said on Thursday, urging Twitter to step up its efforts.
The companies on Thursday provided progress reports on compliance with an improved European Union (EU) code of conduct on disinformation over the past six months.
The reports included data on how much advertising revenue the companies had diverted from disinformation actors, the number or value of political ads accepted or rejected, and instances of manipulative behavior.
The commission strengthened the code last year by linking it to new rules for online content known as the Digital Services Act, which allow regulators to fine companies for breaches of up to 6 per cent of their global turnover . Independent digital services coordinators enforce the law and decide on sanctions.
Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova criticized Twitter.
“I am disappointed to see Twitter’s reporting lag behind others and I expect a more serious commitment to their obligations arising from the Code,” she said in a statement.
The EU executive said Twitter’s report lacked data and lacked information on obligations to empower fact-checkers.
The next reports are due in July. Signatories to the code on Thursday launched a transparency hub, giving EU citizens, researchers and NGOs access to online information about their efforts to fight disinformation.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
