The European Union is escalating its actions against X, a company owned by Elon Musk. On Thursday, the Commission formally requested additional information from the company, following a public warning issued on Wednesday regarding the circulation of illegal content and disinformation related to the Israel-Hamas war on the platform. Twitter’s CEO also responded to the warning, although the response was not specific.

The potential action may foreshadow the initiation of a thorough inquiry into X based on the European Union’s content moderation regulations, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA). Should the Commission proceed with this course of action, it would mark the first investigation to be launched under the DSA after the compliance deadline for “very large online platforms” (VLOPs) was implemented earlier this summer.

Under the regulations of the DSA, failure to comply may lead to penalties amounting to 6% of the annual revenue, in addition to the potential suspension of a service due to repeated violations. The CEO of company X, Elon Musk, previously estimated revenues of approximately $3 billion for the current year. While the accuracy of this projection is uncertain, it serves as an illustration, potentially resulting in a fine of up to $180 million.

Indirectly, conducting an investigation can serve as a crucial means for the public to gain greater transparency regarding the utilization (and misuse) of X. Following Musk’s decision to privatize Twitter, the company no longer releases quarterly earnings reports and isn’t subjected to the same level of scrutiny as before, resulting in lesser accountability.

EU officials have verified that there is no ongoing investigation. However, the recent events and the speed at which regulators are taking action clearly demonstrate the direction the bloc is heading towards.

The Commission has stated that it is examining X’s adherence to the DSA in various aspects, such as its approach to dealing with illegal content notices, handling of complaints, conducting risk assessments, and implementing measures to minimize identified risks.

In a letter addressed to Musk on Wednesday, the internal market commissioner of the European Union, Thierry Breton, expressed a sense of urgency regarding the issue at hand. Breton conveyed that there had been indications from credible sources that X is being utilized as a platform to circulate illegal content and disinformation within the EU. This communication took place following the attacks that occurred on Saturday. Additionally, Breton reminded X of the specific obligations outlined in the Digital Services Act (DSA) pertaining to content moderation.

Breton emphasized the importance of promptly, diligently, and impartially addressing and removing any illegal content in the EU in response to notifications.

The EU has recently issued a press release stating that it has formally requested information from X under the DSA.

The Commission services have received indications about the alleged dissemination of illegal content and false information, specifically relating to the dissemination of terrorist and violent content, as well as hate speech. The request also covers other areas of compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The comprehensive European Union (EU) regulation imposes various governance responsibilities on digital services and platforms. The primary objective is to ensure that companies promptly address reports regarding illegal content. Additionally, these companies are required to effectively communicate their terms and conditions to users and provide tangible evidence of their enforcement efforts.

Larger platforms such as X are also required to recognize and address broader risks, such as false information, gender-related violence, and any adverse impact on fundamental rights.

Furthermore, the regulation incorporates a “crisis response” mechanism (Article 36) that empowers the Commission to swiftly implement measures on major platforms during instances of “significant danger,” such as warfare.

In the wake of the recent attacks in Israel, misleading posts have been observed circulating on X. For instance, there was a video clip that falsely claimed to depict Hamas missile attacks on Israel, but in reality, it was footage from a video game.

In the aftermath of Musk’s acquisition last year, X’s capacity to internally address issues regarding problematic content has been significantly reduced. This was evident through substantial layoffs, particularly in content moderation and human rights, as part of the billionaire owner’s efforts to enhance the platform’s financial performance.

In light of the EU’s previous caution, Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, has communicated through a written statement that a team of leaders has been assembled to deliberate on X’s course of action. Additionally, a substantial number of content pieces, numbering in the tens of thousands, have been eliminated, along with thousands of posts and hundreds of accounts associated with terrorist organizations, violence, or extremism.

According to her, the company, previously referred to as Twitter, is addressing law enforcement inquiries. However, she mentioned that they have yet to receive any requests from Europol.

According to X’s safety account, they stated that there have been over 50 million posts worldwide in the past two days referring to the recent terrorist attack, highlighting the significant amount of content generated.

Twitter has been promoting a feature called Community Notes as its primary approach to address the risks associated with misinformation, where users contribute supplementary context to potentially misleading tweets.

As per the Israeli Military, by Thursday afternoon, the attack carried out by Hamas resulted in the death of over 1,200 individuals. Similarly, retaliatory strikes by Israel caused the loss of at least 1,537 lives in Gaza, as reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health.

X must submit information regarding the activation and operation of its crisis response protocol to the EU by October 18. Additionally, X has been given until October 31 to address the remaining requests made by the bloc.

“Based on the assessment of X replies, the Commission will assess next steps. “This could entail the formal opening of proceedings pursuant to Article 66 of the DSA.”

The regulation also mentioned that it has the authority to levy penalties for providing inaccurate, insufficient, or deceptive information in response to an information request.

“In case of failure to reply by X, the Commission may decide to request the information by decision. In this case, failure to reply by the deadline could lead to the imposition of period penalties,” stated the European Union (EU).

In the past months, Musk decided not to be a part of the EU’s Code of Practice regarding online disinformation. Responding to X’s withdrawal from the voluntary Code, Breton cautioned that obligations still exist and cannot be avoided.

Recently, the European Union has issued warnings to both TikTok and Meta for their involvement in spreading disinformation regarding the Israel-Hamas war. However, a study conducted under the EU’s Code of Practice in September revealed that X is the most problematic among the prominent platforms in terms of disseminating disinformation.