EU warns Meta CEO Zuckerberg to remove pro-Hamas content

Zuckerberg’s platforms asked to “be very vigilant” else it could put the company in violation of new EU regulations

October 12, 2023

EU boss gives Mark Zuckerberg 24 hours to respond about Israel-Hamas conflict and election misinformation

After warning X owner Elon Musk, European Commissioner Thierry Breton has now written to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, telling him to remove pro-Hamas content across his platforms and “be very vigilant” or else it could put the company in violation of new EU regulations.

In a letter to Zuckerberg, Breton urged Meta to remove illegal terrorist content and hate speech amid the ongoing war in Israel.

He said that the European Commission had seen “a surge of illegal content and disinformation being disseminated in the EU.”

“I urgently invite you to ensure that your systems are effective. Needless to say, I also expect you to be in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol, and ensure that you respond promptly to any requests,” he noted.

Breton asked that Zuckerberg respond to the European Union’s (EU) concerns within the next 24 hours.

“I would ask you to be very vigilant to ensure strict compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) rules on terms of service, on the requirement of timely, diligent, and objective action following notices of illegal content in the EU, and on the need for proportionate and effective mitigation measures.”

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said the company has created a “special operations center with experts, including fluent in Hebrew and Arabic speakers” after the Hamas attacks on Israel.

“Our teams are working around the clock to keep our platforms safe, take action on content that violates our policies or local law, and coordinate with third-party fact-checkers in the region to limit the spread of misinformation. We’ll continue this work as this conflict unfolds,” said the spokesperson.

Earlier, the EU commissioner warned Tesla and SpaceX CEO, saying that his X platform “is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU” after the Hamas attacks in Israel.

In a letter addressed to Musk, Breton had said that following the “terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel”, they have indications that “your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU”.

Responding to Breton, Musk asked him to flag the violative content publicly on X, writing that the company takes its “actions in the open”.

Breton replied saying: “You are well aware of your users’ — and authorities’ — reports on fake content and glorification of violence.”

“I still don’t know what they’re talking about!” Musk said.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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