Twitter CEO Elon Musk continues to come under intense scrutiny over how his social media platform combats disinformation with a reduced staff. In early 2023, Musk will meet with Germany’s digital minister, Volker Wissing, in California to discuss whether Twitter will “voluntarily respond” to an agreement it made earlier with the European Commission to combat disinformation. rice field.
A spokesperson for the ministry described the meeting as “a very open long story”, and Musk ended by assuring Wissing that Twitter would not back down from its fight against disinformation. , part of Twitter’s agreement with the Commission includes preventing users from profiting from misinformation, labeling political ads, and making data available to researchers. reported that there is
Ars could not immediately reach Twitter for comment. A ministry spokesperson told Ars: “At a meeting with Elon Musk, Federal Minister Wissing said, among other things, that Germany hopes that its existing voluntary efforts against disinformation and the rules of the Digital Services Act will be complied with in the future. I made it clear that I am,” he said.
The DSA, which went into effect in November, aims to “ensure the online environment is a safe space” while “protecting freedom of expression.” European law puts major social networks first for compliance, noting that they have a “great responsibility” to protect users from risks such as “dangerous misinformation”. Twitter and other “very large online platforms” will have until mid-June 2023 to fully comply with the law. Unlike the voluntary agreement Twitter made with the commission, a department spokesperson told Ars, “Like other companies, Twitter will have to comply with the rules of the Digital Services Act in the future. No. There are no exceptions here.”
“With the Digital Services Act, we will set clear rules at EU level to combat illegal content, increased misinformation and bots on social networks,” a ministry spokesperson told Ars. “Companies are held accountable here to ensure that users can safely use their networks.”
The German government will monitor Twitter “critically” in the coming months, a ministry spokesman said.
The ministry did not share any comments Musk made at the meeting, but said Musk held the meeting on very short notice and only confirmed the night before it was scheduled.
Musk has been criticized in the past few months for his personal use of Twitter (tweeting conspiracy theories from his account) and for public decisions he’s made as Twitter CEO, including scrapping Twitter’s COVID-19 misinformation policy. I was. Trust and security issues continued to plague the platform over the past few days. A Washington Post reporter confirmed this week that Twitter’s revised authentication process for Twitter Blue subscribers still doesn’t prevent impersonation.
Back in November, the European Commission’s Internal Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton, told Musk that Twitter was undertaking “huge work” to effectively combat disinformation, Politico reported. .
But one of the first changes Twitter has made as 2023 begins is the potential for more misinformation to spread on its platform. It announced plans to lift the ban on political ads intended to prevent it and stop limiting the reach of “cause-based” tweets.
In addition, Mr. Mask continues to collect criticism for his personal tweets. Musk recently responded to a tweet Politifact has since uncovered its reliance on “false data claiming increased cardiac arrest in athletes” who received the COVID-19 vaccine. The Washington Post reported that a tweet was posted amid the “COVID disinformation surge” seen across Twitter after Buffalo Bills soccer player Dumar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game on Monday. Twitter’s official response to the spread of this misinformation appears to be inadequate. There are currently no Community notes for Musk on the tweets he replied to. Instead, Musk appears to have personally verified the tweet, saying the information “certainly deserves further investigation.”
