EU takes action against Elon Musk’s X over disinformation

The European Union has formally announced it suspects X, previously known as Twitter, of breaching its rules in areas including countering illegal content and disinformation.

Digital commissioner Thierry Breton set out the alleged infringements in a post on the social media platform.

He said X, which is owned by Elon Musk, was also suspected of breaching its obligations on transparency and in the design of its user interface.

The BBC has approached X for comment.

In October the EU said it was investigating X over the possible spread of terrorist and violent content, and hate speech, after Hamas’ attack on Israel.

X said then that it had removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts from the platform.

The investigation was the first under the EU’s new tech rules.

Under a piece of legislation introduced in August, the Digital Services Act (DSA), big tech firms operating in the EU have beefed up obligations to protect users.

Breaches can result in huge fines or services being suspended.