EU Leader Uses Mastodon to Tell Elon Musk How Twitter Needs to Be Regulated

A European Union commissioner is taking a subtle swipe at Elon Musk’s Twitter by using rival social media platform Mastodon to list the various ways Twitter will need to comply with EU law. 

On Wednesday, European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton posted the list of requirements on his newly created Mastodon profile(Opens in a new window). On Twitter, Breton also tweeted(Opens in a new window) out a link, inviting the public to check out the list on Mastodon, which the EU joined with its own server back in April.

Tweet(Opens in a new window)

Breton’s decision to use Mastodon comes as the decentralized social network has reached(Opens in a new window) over 2 million monthly active users, up from a mere 250,000 back in April. The EU also decided to join Mastodon as part of a pilot to support open-source software capable of rivaling mainstream social media platforms.

Breton published the post after he held a video call with Musk on how Twitter will follow EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires large social media platforms with over 45 million users to invest in content moderation. During the video call, Breton said the EU could ban Twitter if the social media platform fails to follow the regulations, according to The Financial Times(Opens in a new window). 

The demands from Breton could clash with Musk, who bought Twitter to prioritize free speech and roll back the content moderation on the platform. Musk has already reinstated numerous suspended accounts, including former President Donald Trump. 

His attempts to cut costs and require employees to work long, intense hours has also led to about two-thirds of the staff leaving, including those responsible for content moderation. In addition, Twitter has quietly stopped enforcing its COVID-19 misinformation policy. 

However, Breton is indicating that Twitter under Musk is willing to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act. After Wednesday’s video call, the EU Commissioner wrote: “I am pleased to hear that he (Musk) has read it carefully and considers it as a sensible approach to implement on a worldwide basis.

“But let’s also be clear that there is still huge work ahead, as Twitter will have to implement transparent user policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and protect freedom of speech, tackle disinformation with resolve, and limit targeted advertising,” Breton added. 

(Credit: Mastodon/Social.network.europa.eu)

In his posts on Mastodon, Breton noted Twitter will need to crack down on disinformation, which will include labeling “hoaxes and disinformation in cooperation with fact-checkers” while promoting authoritative sources. He also said Twitter will have to implement transparent policies regarding content moderation and consistently apply them. According to The Financial Times, Breton also told Musk he needs to drop an “arbitrary” approach in reinstating banned users.

Musk has since retweeted a newly published blog post(Opens in a new window) from Twitter, which says, “First, none of our policies have changed. Our approach to policy enforcement will rely more heavily on de-amplification of violative content: freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.”

Instead, the blog post frames the recent overhaul at Twitter as the company “embracing public testing.” The post adds: “Our Trust and Safety team continues its diligent work to keep the platform safe from hateful conduct, abusive behavior, and any violation of Twitter’s rules. The team remains strong and well-resourced, and automated detection plays an increasingly important role in eliminating abuse.”