Thierry Breton - NEWS POLITE

Twitter Exits Voluntary EU Disinformation Code but Obligations Remain, EU Commissioner Says

Twitter has decided to leave the EU’s disinformation code, a voluntary pact that groups together the major social platforms, but “its obligations remain,” EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted Saturday.

Launched in 2018, the EU’s code of practice on disinformation counts nearly three dozen signatories including the giants in the sector such as Meta, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and TikTok.

Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation.

But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide.

Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25.

Our teams will be ready for enforcement.

— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) May 26, 2023

It also covers smaller platforms, as well as advertisers and fact-checkers and non-governmental organisations.

The code was written by the industry players themselves and contains over three dozen pledges such as better cooperation with fact-checkers and not promoting actors distributing disinformation.

“You can run but you can’t hide. Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under DSA (digital services law) as of August 25,” he wrote.

“Our teams will be ready for enforcement,” he warned.

Since buying the social network six months ago, billionaire Elon Musk has relaxed the moderation of problematic content, which appears to have amplified the voices of notorious propagators of disinformation on the platform.

“If (Elon Musk) doesn’t take the code seriously, then it’s better that he quits,” a European Commission official had told AFP on Friday.

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Google, EU to Develop Voluntary AI Pact Ahead of Laws Aimed at Governing Artificial Intelligence

Alphabet and the European Commission aim to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) pact involving European and non-European companies before rules are established to govern the technology, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Wednesday.

Breton earlier met Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, in Brussels.

“Sundar and I agreed that we cannot afford to wait until AI regulation actually becomes applicable, and to work together with all AI developers to already develop an AI pact on a voluntary basis ahead of the legal deadline,” Breton said in a statement.

He also urged EU countries and EU lawmakers to finalise details of the Commission’s proposed AI rules before the end of the year. Both groups have yet to start negotiations to iron out their differences.

Concern is mounting about fast-developing AI’s potential to upend the way society and businesses operate. Governments are scrambling to find a way to rein in negative consequences without losing the benefits, or stifling innovation.

EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, who also met Pichai, underlined the need to act together.

“We need the AI Act as soon as possible. But AI technology evolves at extreme speed. So we need voluntary agreement on universal rules for AI now,” she said in a tweet.

The European Union and the United States plan to step up cooperation on artificial intelligence to establish minimum standards before legislation enters force, Vestager said on Tuesday.

Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said she voiced her concerns to Pichai about the spread of pro-Kremlin war propaganda and disinformation on Google’s products and services and the risks of disinformation in EU and national elections.

Pichai agreed to look into problems faced by independent Russian media in monetising their content in Russia on YouTube, Jourova said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Elon Musk to Meet EU Industry Chief Thierry Breton Today to Discuss Free Speech, Global Supply Chain Issues

EU industry chief Thierry Breton will meet Tesla boss Elon Musk in Texas on Monday to discuss global supply chain issues and the bloc’s newly agreed rules requiring tech giants to do more to police online content, Breton’s spokesperson said.

The meeting comes weeks after the world’s richest man clinched a deal to buy social media company Twitter for $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,40,400 crore) in cash.

The two will meet at 1900 GMT (12:30am IST on Tuesday) in Austin, where the new headquarters for Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla is located.

“Tech and supply chains will be high on the agenda at Tesla with Elon Musk,” Terence Zakka, spokesperson for Breton, said in an email.

“Free speech will also be on the menu between Thierry Breton and Elon Musk. So will EU regulation. Expect exchange on the Digital Services Act and how ‘new’ Twitter will play by European rules,” he said.

Musk secured the deal to buy Twitter last month with a pledge to revitalise the company and expand the number of users by cracking down on spam bots and reducing the amount of moderation to facilitate more “free speech”.

The billionaire’s comments prompted a rejoinder from Breton that Twitter must comply with new EU rules known as the Digital Services Act tackling illegal online content.

In his latest announcement regarding Twitter, Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder said he would significantly increase work ethic standards in Twitter once he officially acquires the social media platform.

“Work ethic expectations would be extreme, but much less than I demand of myself,” Musk said on Twitter on Friday.

The company will be “super focused on hardcore software engineering, design, information security and server hardware,” he added.

Musk previously said that he would like to revolutionize Twitter’s role in public debate as “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”