Twitter must be ready to comply with new rules by August, EU warns

European Commissioner Thierry Breton has warned Elon Musk that Twitter must have enough resources to moderate dangerous content by 25 August. If not, Musk risks violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). Under European legislation, internet platforms are legally obliged to combat disinformation.

"If the technology is not ready, they should have sufficient resources to bridge the gap. I spoke to Elon Musk about this particular issue," Breton told reporters after a meeting at Twitter's headquarters.

Breton told Musk and the Twitter team that "there are a few areas that will be immediately critical when the regulation becomes enforceable." These will mainly related to child abuse and disinformation in elections, he said.

"If the technology is not ready, they should have sufficient resources to bridge the gap"

Breton's visit to Twitter was part of what the European Union called a "stress test" to gauge whether the platform was ready to comply with the new rules, despite a huge wave of layoffs since Musk took over the company.

During a visit to Paris last week, Musk said he intended to comply with the DSA, an ambition the EU welcomes. But with decimated moderator teams, Musk's ability to deliver on his promise is in doubt.

^{© CONSTANZA HEVIA / AFP}