EU launches probe into Elon Musk's X platform

X, formerly Twitter, is suspected of having failed to counter illegal content and disinformation, an EU commissioner said about the infringement proceedings.

The European Union has launched "formal infringement proceedings" against social media firm X, formerly known as Twitter, Commissioner Thierry Breton said on Monday.

The EU suspects X of failing to counter illegal content and disinformation.

The bloc seeks to regulate big tech companies under new regulations in the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which entered into force in November 2022.

The DMA requires large online platforms and search engines to implement stronger measures to tackle illegal content and public security risks.

"We take any breach of our rules very seriously. And the evidence we currently have is enough to formally open a proceeding against X," said EU Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager.
EU takes on social media platforms

In October, Breton accused the firms, X, TikTok and Meta of not doing enough to counter the spread of disinformation following the Hamas' Islamist militant groups attack on Israel.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, the US, Israel, Germany and several other countries.

In September, European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said that X was the largest source of disinformation in the EU.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

sdi/fb (AFP, Reuters, dpa)