Twitter Starts War with European Union by Leaving Code of Practice Agreement!

Twitter is said to have withdrawn from the EU agreement. (photo: dock. twitter)

JAKARTA - Twitter is said to have withdrawn from the European Union (EU) agreement to combat online disinformation. Lately, this issue that has become a reality has been widely discussed.

In a tweet, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton stated that the company had completely abandoned an agreement called the Code of Practice to fight disinformation.

“Twitter abandons the EU's voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But the obligations remain. You can run but you can't hide," said Breton.

Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation.

But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide.

Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25.

Our teams will be ready for enforcement.

— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) May 26, 2023

Breton's tweet referred to the obligations that all very large online platforms (VLOPs) must comply with under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). Like Twitter, to be more proactive with content moderation.

“Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will become a legal obligation under the #DSA from August 25. Our team will be ready for law enforcement," said Breton.

In 2018, before being taken over by Elon Musk, Twitter had signed up to the EU Code of Practice against disinformation, along with other tech giants, such as Facebook, Meta, Google, and TikTok.

The original EU Code of Practice required online platforms to take steps to combat the spread of false information by targeting related advertising revenue, tackling bots and fake accounts, providing tools for consumers to report disinformation and empowering researchers to learn.

Then in June 2022, the EU rolled out an upgraded version and announced a transparency center to monitor compliance with it.

Although the EU Practice Code is voluntary, if the company adheres to the agreement it will be calculated in DSA compliance.

Twitter's decision to withdraw from the Practice Code was only three months before the EU enacted the DSA, but TechCrunch said through Engadget, Monday, May 29, Musk wants to start a war with the country by ignoring its rules.

If DSA is ignored, EU officials can provide a penalty of up to 10 percent of global annual revenue for violations, with a potential fine of up to 20 percent of turnover worldwide for repeated non-compliance.

With repeated non-compliance, online platforms can be blocked access to services that allow Twitter to lose its market in areas with around 440 million consumers.