Never one to be told what to do, Elon Musk has pulled Twitter from the EU’s voluntary code to fight disinformation. The EU disinformation code is a voluntary move that involves tech firms both big and small, including Meta, TikTok, Google, Twitch and Microsoft, and aims to fight fake news by increasing transparency and culling the spread of bots and fake accounts – something Elon Musk often cites as the reason for his most controversial moves on the social media platform.
However, the EU’s internal marketing commissioner, Thierry Breton, announced on Twitter that the site had pulled out of the code, saying: “Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide. Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25. Our teams will be ready for enforcement.”
Volunteers signing the code will pledge a series of changes in their companies, including working with fact-checkers and tracking political advertising, something Elon Musk “wholeheartedly” agreed to when meeting Breton in November 2022.
As Breton points out, this code might be voluntary, but regulations are to be enforced come August 25th, which aim to fight disinformation on social media platforms.
As per the EU: “Recognizing the particular impact of very large online platforms on our economy and society, the proposal sets a higher standard of transparency and accountability on how the providers of such platforms moderate and intermediate information. It sets supervised risk management obligations for online platforms that reach the largest audiences and pose the largest societal risks.”
This is likely to be an issue for Twitter, which has decreased moderation drastically under the leadership of Elon Musk, due to mass firings in the company leaving the platform without the sheer manpower needed to fight disinformation.
