EU asks Musk's X for information on hate speech and 'illegal content' related to Israel-Hamas war

abcnews.go.com:

The European Commission has made a formal, legally binding request for information from Elon Musk’s social media platform X over its handling of hate speech, misinformation and violent terrorist content related to the Israel-Hamas war

LONDON — The European Commission on Thursday made a formal, legally binding request for information from Elon Musk's social media platform X over its handling of hate speech, misinformation and violent terrorist content related to the Israel-Hamas war.

It is the first step in what could become the EU's inaugural investigation under the Digital Services Act, in this case to determine if the site formerly known as Twitter is in compliance with the tough new rules meant to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content.

San Francisco-based X has until Wednesday to respond to questions related to how its crisis response protocol is functioning. Responses to other questions must be received by Oct. 31. The commission said its next steps, which could include the opening of formal proceedings and penalties, would be determined by X's replies.

Representatives for X did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The company's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, said earlier that the site has removed hundreds of Hamas-linked accounts and taken down or labeled tens of thousands of pieces of content since the militant group's attack on Israel. One social media expert called the actions “a drop in the bucket."

Yaccarino on Thursday outlined steps taken by X to combat illegal content flourishing on the platform. She was responding to an earlier letter from a top European Union official for information on how X is complying with the EU's new digital rules during the Israel-Hamas war. That