The European Commission has decided to deepen its investigation into X y has asked formally to the company to provide various documentation about its algorithms and its operation. The network has until February 15 to deliver what they have requested, which will serve to check whether the social network’s recommendation system, which makes content suggestions to users, as well as the changes that have been made to it in recent months, violates EU rules related to content moderation.
The social network X has been under investigation by the European Commission since December 2023, in a procedure that studies whether X, the former Twitter, has violated the DSA (Digital Services Act). Specifically, if you do not respect their rules regarding containing the spread of illegal content, as well as the manipulation of information. Specifically, she has been accused of manipulating her platform’s systems to give more visibility and reach to far-right politicians and publications, so that they have more visibility than the publications of other politicians and groups.
The EU is facing increasing pressure from several of its member states to take action over the intervention of the CEO of X, Elon Muskin the politics of the European Union. Musk is going to become a member of the Trump Administration, and has provoked the anger of many of the region’s political leaders for meddling in the politics of several countries. Among them, Germany, with its express support for the leader of the German far-right party AfD and attacks against those responsible for other parties or the government.
In addition, Musk has also expressed his support for far-right leaders and parties in the United Kingdom, and has attacked Keir Starmer, leader of the Labor Party and current Prime Minister of the United Kingdomdisseminating biased and false information.
In view of his attitude, and also that X’s publications seem to favor far-right content, the Comisaria de asuntos digitales de la UE, Henna Virkkunenhas issued a statement, confirming that the Commission will take further measures «to shed light on the compliance of X recommender systems with the obligations implied by the DSA«.
On the other hand, the commission has downplayed rumors that it was reconsidering its investigations into big technology, pointing out that they were following their normal course and that Trump’s return to the presidency of the United States was not going to affect its commitment to comply with the laws.
Virkunnen has also indicated that the European Union will not hesitate to use its powers to fine or ban X if they discover that the social network is violating the DSA, stressing that they are committed to «ensure that all platforms operating in the EU respect the laws, with which they try to make the online environment fair, safe and democratic for all European citizens«.
Apart from asking for documentation on X’s algorithm, the EU has issued a retention orderwith which the company is obliged to preserve internal documents and information related to the changes it makes in the future to the design and operation of the network’s recommendation algorithm, valid between January 17 and next January 31.
This order will be void, that is, if the commission finishes its investigation sooner. The commission members have also requested access to certain commercial interfaces and APIs of X. Specifically, those used to automatically render third-party content.
