EU urges Big Tech to tackle terrorist content after Hamas attack

London:

The European Union has extended that tech companies must. Remove illegal content from their platform, or risk facing severe legal penalties.

Following the extremist Islamic group Hamas Attack on Israel And of Israel Retaliatory air strikes In the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, social media firms have seen an increase in disinformation about the conflict, including Doctored images and mislabeled videos with images of graphic violence.

On Tuesday, EU industry chief Thierry Breton Elon Musk said To curb misinformation on its messaging platform X, warned that it was being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the wake of recent violence in the Middle East.

Breton issued a similar warning. On Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg urged the company to ensure strict compliance with European law.

In his letters to Musk and Zuckerberg, Bratton said his companies have 24 hours to inform the European Union how they are preventing harmful content on their platforms.

Now, the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has sought to remind all social media companies that they are legally required to prevent the spread of harmful content related to Hamas.

“Material circulating online that may be linked to Hamas qualifies as terrorist material, is illegal, and is subject to the DSA (Digital Services Act) and TCO (Terrorist Content Online),” a commission spokesman told Reuters. line) required to be removed under both the Regulation.”

“The Commission will fully apply the DSA and monitor the full implementation of the TCO. The Commission urges online platforms to fully comply with EU rules.

gave The recently implemented DSA Major online platforms, including X and Meta’s Facebook, are required to remove illegal content and take measures to address threats to public safety and civil discourse.

Any firm found in breach of the DSA faces fines of up to 6% of global turnover, and repeat violators could be banned from operating in Europe altogether.

It is unclear whether Bratton sent similar messages to other social media companies named under the DSA.