EU Urges Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai To Comply With EU Technology Rules

EU industry chief Thierry Breton warns Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai (photo: twitter @ThierryBreton)

Jakarta - On Friday, October 13, European Union industry chief Thierry Breton warned Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to comply with European Union technology rules following the widespread spread of disinformation on YouTube following Hamas attacks in Israel. This makes the company the latest warning from the European Union.

Breton reminded Pichai in a letter posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding the company's obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which requires large online platforms to take further action to address harmful and illegal content.

Given the extensive reach of #YouTube, recalling the precise obligations of the #DSA in the context of the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel and disinformation around elections ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/82UXy3a8Dc

— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) October 13, 2023

The letter follows similar letters sent earlier this week to X owner Elon Musk, Meta Platforms' Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, but without a 24-hour timeline for taking action to address disinformation.

False content about the Israeli and Hamas conflict has spread widely on major social media platforms in recent days.

"I want to remind you first that you have a special obligation to protect the millions of children and young people who use your platform in the European Union from violent content depicting hostage-taking and other graphic videos," Breton said, quoted by Reuters.

Breton said his team would follow up with specific requests on a number of issues to ensure Google complies with the DSA.

According to YouTube parent Alphabet, the company quickly worked to remove harmful content following the Hamas attack and is willing to take additional action. They have also launched a crisis resource panel in search results with information from Israeli authorities for viewers in Israel.