Just a day earlier, Musk asked for a list of violations on X when EU commissioner Thierry Breton urged X Corp’s billionaire boss to keep the platform in check. Breton had issued a 24-hour ultimatum for social media platforms to curb misinformation and hateful contents amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
CEO Linda Yaccarino stepped in with the countermeasures as requested by the EU. In a statement issued in response to Thierry Breton’s public letter to Musk, the Global Affairs Department at Twitter claimed that hundreds of pro-Hamas accounts have been removed from the platform. These accounts were removed under the Hateful Entities Policy of the company.
The high level summary also stated that tens of thousands of pieces of content have been removed since the terrorist attack in Israel. There is no place on X for terrorist outfits and violent extremists, the statement read.
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) October 12, 2023
Besides the content removal on its own accord, Linda mentions that X took down over 80 requests from the EU. She remarked that the company takes potentially illegal content on the platform very seriously. X will continue to respond to law enforcement in a timely manner, she added.
Theirry Breton stated that the EU has received a letter from X, and it’ll be analyzed by the DSA enforcement team for further steps.
We have received the reply by @X to our letter raising concerns about the spread of illegal content and disinformation related to the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel.
The #DSA enforcement team will analyse the reply and decide on next steps.
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) October 12, 2023
Meanwhile, the EU commissioner also issued similar letters to Meta’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg, with a 24 hours ultimatum. An official response is awaited from Meta. A similar letter was issued to TikTok to curb the menace of misinformation.
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
#TikTok has a particular obligation to protect children & teenagers from violent content & terrorist propaganda —as well as death challenges & potentially life-threatening content.#DSA sets out very clear obligations TikTok must comply with.
Letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew⤵️ pic.twitter.com/J1tpVzXaYR
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) October 12, 2023
See Also: After Musk, EU Commissioner Warns Zuckerberg To Remove Misinformation And Deepfakes Amid Israel-Hamas War