2023-11-05 17:09:00
The social network X (formerly Twitter) published on Sunday its first transparency report on content controlrequired by the European Union as part of its major regulation regulating social networks, the Digital Services Act, which came into force at the end of August.
While the company miserably failed in its moderation of disinformation around the conflict between Israel and Hamas, to the point of causing the indignation of European Commissioner Thierry Breton, the report provides clues as to the causes of this failure. In total, X only has 12 moderators in Arabic and 2 in Hebrew. France is not much better off, with only 52 French-speaking moderators. With 2,294 moderators, English is the most monitored language, far ahead of its runner-up, German and its 82 moderators…
The DSA, Brussels’ weapon to impose its law on the Internet giants
The arrival of Elon Musk has shaken up X’s moderation
The DSA requires large online platforms – from contents.
Since the text was voted on in August 2022, the platforms have had more than a year to prepare for it. But in this dynamic, the case of X quickly stood out, since Elon Musk’s takeover at the end of October 2022 shook up the social network. Certainly, X denies having a “ international and cross-functional team » of human moderators, who work “ 24 hours a day with the ability to cover multiple languages ».
But at the same time, the arrival of the billionaire led to the dismissal of 80% of the workforce, including that of entire teams dedicated to monitoring comments made on the platform and the fight against disinformation. X still put himself in battle order in June during the reception of Thierry Breton, to show that he took regulation seriously. Insufficient: in October, the European Union launched an in-depth investigation into its moderation management.
Israel-Hamas war: the EU barks, but remains powerless in the face of social media chaos
If an entire part of the moderation is automated, the glaring lack of human moderators in languages widely spoken on the platform acts as a time bomb.
Problem: Elon Musk has himself become a vector of disinformation, and does not hesitate to share conspiracy theories, particularly around the vaccine. Engaged in a political fight in favor of the American Republican camp, the businessman no longer hesitates to twist figures and words, as Donald Trump did before him. With the DSA, the European Union has equipped itself with a tool to theoretically avoid the disaster scenario where X transforms into a platform for systematic disinformation. But it must still prove that it has the tools to force the social network to respect its demands.
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