EU takes action against Elon Musk's X over disinformation
bbc.com
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.
Good, there is nothing wrong with having rules against spreading misinformation if that information can be objectively be verified as false. This weird idea we have to be polite and treat people spreading misinformation with respect is silly. Opinions are opinions, but spreading verifiable lies shouldn't be allowed.
Where and how do you draw the line between opinion and misinformation? And who is the arbiter of truth?
Most issues that are controversial are social/political issues. Like Palestine vs Israel - other than "people are dying on both side" what can we say that wouldn't be a subjective view?
Many things that are subjective, can be spun to be viewed objectively as well. The media is good at appearing like this.
Sometimes even scientific issues arise in the form of skewed/incomplete data pushed by corporations to give their product the go ahead or to make a point, rather than objectively study. See the sugar or tobacco industries as an example. Even "the food pyramid" that was pushed on us all as kids was a lie from skewed studies.
This is sort of the consequence of free speech, one that we currently don't have a solution for. Personally, I'd rather see "misinformation" than have anything censored. This at least gives you the power to infer what you want, and decide who the good and bad actors are
I said verifiable fact. Not opinions. Example: During the pandemic, here in America, the vaccine was available in May of 2021, and around the end of summer, everyone who was going to get it had gotten it. Biden's administration was trying to think how they could help get more fence sitters to get the vaccine. So they thought maybe a door to door education campaign would help, just people going door to door with information and hand out packets of information to help educate people on what a mRNA vaccine was, and why it wasn't something to worry about.
Well, Fox News aired straight up lies. On air, Fox News talking heads said that the door to door campaign was going to have people show up at your house WITH the vaccine and demand you get the shot right then and there. And what would be next? They could come to your door and take your guns, they could take your BIBLE. I shit you not, that's fear mongering aimed at one thing, to scare their viewership and the republican base. None of that fear mongering had any basis in reality, it was verifiably FALSE.
So that's what I'm talking about, spread lies and misinformation that can be proved to be false should be illegal for the same reasons why it's illegal to yell "FIRE" in a crowded theater when there isn't a fire.
All the media outlets say stupid shit like that lol. Extreme emotions is what drives viewership for all of them.
All I'm saying is I'd rather have it out in the open (so you can see the stupidity, just like you did with Fox) - rather than censored.
How would you know Fox corp is full of bad actors without seeing actions like that? Now you know not to trust them, and the people it's connected to.
I can tell that type of drivel is bullshit, but their vast viewership isn't making that distinction. It's leading to a huge group of America who don't live in reality, and it's proving to be dangerous physically and politically. So I still think if something is a verifiable lie, it should be called as such and the spreader of that lie should face ramifications.
Fair enough, but censorship won't fix the underlying issue that people aren't taking the time to think about what they're reading/watching. It might make it worse once it becomes information "they don't want you to see"
Well that's fucking idiotic! You're acting like you've never encountered humans before, especially on the internet.
Propaganda works, and not only on gullible and/or dumb people. That's why there needs to be safeguards against dangerous lies like the ones of Musk, Trump, Hitler and other fascists with huge cult followings.
Fascists restrict speech, more than anyone else.
That restricted speech, coupled with propaganda is what is dangerous. The fact that there's propaganda, and then a completely opposing view also existing, is a good thing. It means free speech is working and we all need to be diligent about what we take in. "Don't believe everything you read!"
I don't want to outsource the cognitive load of who and what I should be trusting, while watching what I say, because that's exactly how you end up in a fascist state
What you say would work in an ideal world, where people freely discuss about topics. In the real world, instead, especially on social networks, misinformation spread like a virus, aided by people or governments who know the truth but obtain benefits from division created by such lies. I agree, it's difficult to draw a line between opinions and misinformation tho, but it is necessary, I believe.
Twenty years ago I might've agreed with you but not any more. I don't know how the truth is determined in every case, but I do know the internet is useless when lies outnumber truth 10:1. Ideally such arbiters would be folks who can be held financially or criminally liable for lying. Maybe through a professional certification such as lawyers and engineers have. If someone doesn't have any skin in telling the truth, why believe them?
I'd argue it's always been 10:1, we just have access to all of it at the click of a button, and it's all now recorded - remember how many old wives tales used to get shared around back then?
"Bubblegum stays in your stomach for YEARS!" "Shaving makes your hair come back thicker" "Don't crack your knuckles, it'll give you arthritis!"
And now we have the ability to cast these claims against their opposers, where as before it would've been much more difficult to uncover.
But to your point about believing people with skin in the game, I'd say that's a great idea - if we can keep it decentralized and as open to the public as possible, all at the same time. Pharmaceutical companies have a lot of exemptions from this kind of thing though, we'd need a method for them as well
I think the idea is that the burden of proof should be on the preacher, and not on the pulpit at which they stand. In other words it's not rejecting the idea, it's rejecting the person until they are able to prove their claims using rational evidence
About time. Everyone should watch John Oliver's segment on Musk from last night. He showed how Musk has way too much power to be ignored. His companies need far more review and scrutiny. This is a very good start.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo3zORUGCbM
No one ever reports on the reoccurring environmental violations that have occurred at his austin area boring company site, typically related to the discharge of wastewater (industrial, and otherwise) and erosion. Though, to be clear, theres no raw sewage in the streets or anything like that. The citations are always "resolved," but a few months later, a new round is issued. He gets another slap on the wrist, and then goes about his day. This has been something like 4 rounds of violations for at least a year and a half.
While there has been vague talk of more serious consequences, so far nothing of substance has materialized. The only reason the site even gets inspected, is because it ends up affecting the neighbors.
Before, it was just not wanting to do things properly, but at this point, I'm pretty sure he's just trying to get approval to dump all the "treated" wastewater into a nearby river that's used for recreation. Probably something along the lines of...if you want me to stop inappropriately managinging my wastewater onsite (in a historically residential neighborhood, mind you), give me the permit to put it somewhere else.
The community and the nearest city object to the idea. The ability easily monitor for violations will be nonexistent and nobody has any faith that what will be discharged into the river will actually be clean and up to standards. But of course, the permit isn't going to be decided by those it directly affects.
Context:
https://www.businesspost.ie/news/exclusive-the-x-files-how-elon-musks-new-rules-allow-hate-to-flourish/
X is so fucked.
In terms of monetary fines, what're we talking here? And how long until it legit happens?
I want to live to see him go down in a blaze of lolz, but with how slow the legal system can move I don't have high hopes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital\_Services\_Act says that "Companies that do not comply with the new obligations risk fines of up to 6% on their annual turnover [i.e. revenue before expenses] in the European Union."
According to https://www.businessofapps.com/data/twitter-statistics/, twitters revenue was $4 billion in 2022. Let's assume it's $2 billion now. Also on that page, it shows half the revenue comes from USA, half 'rest of world', let's assume that means EU. So $1bn. 6% of that is $60 million. Per year.
Not exactly a killing blow, I guess. But paying that money has to come out of profits so this makes turning a profit significantly harder.
I love that your responses have sources. You're awesome.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
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.
"X is focused on creating a safe and inclusive environment for all users on our platform, while protecting freedom of expression, and we will continue to work tirelessly towards this goal," it added.
These are the first formal proceedings launched under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the tough new rules for big tech firms the EU has introduced.
"Today, we opened formal proceedings against X based on several suspected infringements of the Digital Services Act," EU Commission spokesman Johannes Bahrke said.
However, concerns about the nature of the content appearing on X have intensified since it was bought by Elon Musk - in part because he laid off many of its moderators - with the European Commission previously warning it had the biggest disinformation problem of any major platform.
In the US, controversy over extremist material appearing on the site has led to an advertising boycott, a bitter row between Mr Musk and a campaign group, and even questions about whether X could end up going bankrupt.
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