X reaction to UK riots could impact DSA probe, says Commission
Legal proceedings were launched in December 2023 against X handling of illegal contents and disinformation on its platform.
Transcript
00:00X's role and response to the riots in the UK could inform a probe launched by the European
00:06Commission under its Digital Services Act, DSA.
00:10The commission proceedings launched against X in December 2023 were the first brought
00:15under the DSA, the landmark EU ruling on digital platforms.
00:20The DSA is only applicable in the EU and was very successful already in similar cases like
00:26the riots that happened in Ireland at the end of last year.
00:30Now that being said, on the current situation in the UK, we cannot be naive of course and
00:36there could be potential spillovers into the EU.
00:40We are very well aware of this and this is why we are following the situation very closely
00:44in the UK, but also X's response to these events.
00:48Since the knife attack killed three children at a dance class in Southport on July 30,
00:54a series of riots and violence between communities has spread across the UK.
00:59X has been used as a tool to spread misinformation about the Southport attack.
01:04It has since become a channel for Elon Musk to criticise the Prime Minister and amplify
01:09rhetoric that has led to subsequent violence.
01:13These incidents currently happening in the UK and the response of X to these events could
01:18be potentially taken into account during the current proceedings that we have opened against
01:22X, notably on disinformation and illegal content, and this would be very much in line
01:27with what already happened in the past.
01:30If the probe results find a breach in X's conduct, fines of up to 6% of its worldwide
01:36annual turnover could be imposed on the social media platform.