France threatens to ban Twitter in EU
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France considers banning Twitter if the company doesn't abide by EU disinformation laws.
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In this Feb. 8, 2018 file photo, the logo for Twitter is displayed above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)
France threatened to ban Twitter from the European Union if the US social media network fails to abide by updated new disinformation regulations in the bloc.
France's Digital Transition and Telecommunications Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that the European bloc could not take the risk of a network such as Twitter, describing it as a hub of disinformation.
"Disinformation is one of the gravest threats weighing on our democracies,” he said on French radio network France Info, warning, "Twitter, if it repeatedly doesn’t follow our rules, will be banned from the EU."
🗣️ "Si à partir du 25/08, Twitter ne lutte pas contre la désinformation, il ne sera plus le bienvenu."
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) May 30, 2023
Le ministre délégué chargé du Numérique @jnbarrot menace Twitter de sanctions si les règles de lutte contre la désinformation ne sont pas respectées.
📺 #franceinfo canal 27 pic.twitter.com/qMCaCHLxJX
The EU’s incoming Digital Services Act will go into effect on August 25 and enforces new rules on social media.
Barrot’s threat comes two days after the EU Internal Market Commissioner announced that Elon Musk’s Twitter withdrew from the bloc’s voluntary code to curb disinformation online, which other Silicon Valley companies like Meta, Google, and Microsoft have pledged to follow.
Twitter exited the voluntary European Union’s Code of Practice on Disinformation, according to the European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. "Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But obligations remain," Breton tweeted on May 26, adding that the company "can run but you can’t hide."
The commissioner pointed out the obligations to fight "disinformation" as the EU is looking to transfer what were previously voluntary commitments into law on August 25 under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).
When the act is passed, Twitter will be listed as a "very large online platform," which makes it legally required to take action against "harmful content" and submit annual risk assessments to the commission.
Twitter had failed to comply with the EU regulator's request of sending in a complete report that did not include all the data required, as well as a commitment to utilizing fact-checkers. This made the social media giant the only major tech platform not to do so after it was acquired by Elon Musk in late 2022.
Musk claimed in interviews that now there is less misinformation on Twitter since he bought the site for $44 billion back in October.
