Twitter will be banned across the EU if it fails to abide by the new regulations on fighting disinformation, French Digital Transition and Telecommunications Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday. The warning comes as the European bloc\u2019s Digital Services Act (DSA) is due to fully take effect on August 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDisinformation is one of the gravest threats weighing on our democracies,\u201d Barrot told France Info radio. \u201cI hope that Twitter complies with the European rules by August 25. Otherwise, it will no longer be welcome in Europe. Twitter, if it repeatedly doesn\u2019t follow our rules, will be banned from the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DSA mandates that search engines and large platforms, such as Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok, enact measures to mitigate \u201cdisinformation or election manipulation, cyber violence against women, or harms to minors online.\u201d The European Commission can fine offenders up to 6% of annual worldwide turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton announced last week that Twitter had pulled out of the bloc\u2019s voluntary Code of Practice on Disinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EU commissioner reprimands Musk over disinfo<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cBut obligations remain. You can run but you can\u2019t hide,\u201d Breton said, adding that DSA\u2019s terms will be \u201cready for enforcement\u201d when the compliance deadline expires in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Billionaire Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter last year, promised to rid the platform of disinformation and hateful content, but also uphold the freedom of speech and offer more transparency. \u201cThis platform is hell bent on being the least untrue source of information,\u201d Musk wrote on Twitter in early May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, earlier this month Twitter fulfilled the Turkish government\u2019s request to restrict access to some accounts in the weeks leading up to the presidential and general election in the country. Musk defended this decision by saying that he wanted to avoid Twitter getting shut down entirely in T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t go beyond the laws of a country \u2026 If we have a choice of either our people [going] to prison or we comply with the laws, we will comply with the laws,\u201d Musk told the BBC last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n