Brussels Concerned About Gaps in Twitter's Content Moderation Practices

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said on Thursday that Brussels is concerned about recent layoffs at Twitter and gaps in the social network's content moderation practices.

"The recent layoffs @Twitter and today's results of the Code of Conduct against #HateSpeech are a source of concern. In my meeting at Twitter’s HQ, I underlined that we expect Twitter to deliver on their voluntary commitments and comply with EU rules, including #GDPR & #DSA," Reynders tweeted.

In another tweet, the commissioner urged IT companies "to look at their content moderation practices & address the gaps shortly."

"It is disappointing that most of IT companies taking part in EU Code of Conduct have slowed down their responses to notifications of #OnlineHateSpeech," he said.

On Thursday, the European Commission released the results of its evaluation of the Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online. According to the report, the data showed a significant decrease in companies' notice-and-action results in 2022.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the departures at Twitter, that the social network has closed its entire Brussels office, prompting concerns among European officials about whether Twitter will abide by the EU's rules on content moderation.

On October 28, Musk finalized the acquisition of Twitter, which cost him $44 billion. Following the takeover, Musk changed the company's day-to-day operations, including the termination of Twitter's executives who were responsible for the platform's privacy and cybersecurity, and thousands of regular Twitter employees. The significant policy changes have caused a wave of concern, including from high-ranking US officials. On November 4, US President Joe Biden said that Twitter is spreading "lies" across the world.

Earlier in the day, Musk said that the social media will reinstate blocked accounts next week after a majority of users voted for "general amnesty."

On November 19, Musk restored the page of the 45th US president, Donald Trump, whose account had been suspended since January 8, 2021, two days after the US Capitol riot. On Monday, Twitter reinstated the account of American rap artist, record producer and fashion designer, whose legal name is Ye, after it was blocked on October 9 for a policy violation. It is believed that the rapper was banned for an anti-Semitic tweet, although the network itself did not specify the exact reason for his account's suspension.