LONDON (AP) — Twitter has withdrawn from a voluntary European Union agreement to combat online disinformation, a senior EU official said Friday.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that Twitter had withdrawn from the EU disinformation “code of practice” that other major social media platforms have pledged to support. But he added that Twitter’s “obligation” remained, referring to the EU. new strict digital rules Going into effect in August.
“You can run but you can’t hide,” Breton said.
San Francisco-based Twitter responded with an automated reply, as it does with most inquiries from the press, and had no comment.
The decision to drop a commitment to combat misinformation appears to be the latest move by billionaire owner Elon Musk to loosen the reins on the social media company after he bought it last year. he has rolled return to previous rules against misinformationand has thrown its verification system and content moderation policies into chaos as it pursues its goal of turning Twitter into a digital city square.
LUDOVIC MARIN via Getty Images
Google, TikTok, Microsoft and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, are among those that have signed up to the EU code, which requires companies to measure their work to combat misinformation and issue regular reports on their progress.
There were already signs that Twitter was not prepared to meet its commitments. The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation bloc, criticized Twitter earlier this year for failing to provide a full first report under the code, saying it provided little specific information and no specific data.
Breton said that under the new digital rules incorporating the code of practice, combating misinformation will become a “legal obligation.”
“Our teams will be ready for the application,” he said.