EU opens probe into X in test of new tech rules, pressure on TikTok and Meta. After previously criticizing the social media platforms TikTok and Meta for not doing enough to stop the spread of misinformation following Hamas’ attack on Israel, EU industry official Thierry Breton on Thursday launched a probe against Elon Musk’s X, the first under new EU tech regulations.

False information on the Israel and Hamas war has increased across all three platforms, with disinformation appearing to be most common on X, according to social media researchers cited by Reuters. With Breton’s action, TikTok and Meta are pressured to delete dangerous and unlawful content from their platforms to adhere to the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The DSA, which went into effect in November of last year, requires extremely big internet platforms and search engines to take further measures to combat unlawful material and threats to public safety and safeguard their services from manipulation. In response to a letter from Breton, X CEO Linda Yaccarino stated on Thursday that the platform had taken measures to delete or label tens of thousands of pieces of content since the incident and had banned hundreds of accounts with Hamas affiliations.

“We have sent @X a formal request for information, a first step in our investigation to determine compliance with the DSA,” Breton wrote in a message to X.

X chose not to respond. After EU industry head Thierry Breton requested Musk to stop the propagation of misinformation on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk responded in a post on the platform on Friday by claiming that the EU had not presented any examples of misinformation.

A representative for the European Commission did not immediately answer a request for comment. It has until October 18 to outline the activation and operation of its crisis response plan and until October 31 for additional matters.

According to experts, tracking keywords and hashtags is becoming more difficult due to Musk’s decision to restrict free academic access to a data tool earlier this year, forcing academics to go through content to identify misinformation manually. Since assuming control of the company, Musk has reduced Twitter’s personnel from 7,500 to about 1,500 to save money. Those laid off worked in content moderation, detecting and removing coordinated misinformation efforts, and curating trustworthy material.

X also lost three heads who tried to stop advertisements from appearing next to hazardous content: two heads of trust and safety and one of brand safety. If it is found guilty of DSA breaches, the corporation faces fines of up to 6% of its annual global revenue. Earlier Thursday, the Frenchman gave TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew 24 hours to intensify efforts to eradicate dangerous and unlawful content from the short video app.

Breton’s caution in a letter to Chew, first seen by Reuters, comes after identical warnings to the owners of X, previously Twitter, Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta Platforms. Breton then published the message on the social media site Bluesky.

After the Hamas assaults, Breton claimed in a letter to TikTok, a platform controlled by the Chinese firm ByteDance, that he had evidence that it was being used to spread false information and unlawful content throughout the EU.

“Given that children and teenagers extensively use your platform, you have a particular obligation to protect them from violent content depicting hostage-taking and other graphic videos which are reportedly widely circulating on your platform without appropriate safeguards,” he stated.