FILE - European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton speaks during a signature ceremony regarding the Chips Act at EU headquarters in Brussels, on Feb. 8, 2022. A top European Union official is visiting Silicon Valley to oversee “stress tests” for Twitter before the bloc’s tough new digital rules take effect. Thierry Breton, who oversees digital policy, is the EU’s point person working to get Big Tech companies in line for the Digital Services Act, which kicks in Aug. 25. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
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EU presses tech companies on Israel, Gaza content
The European Union (EU) sent formal requests to Meta and TikTok for details about their handling of disinformation and illegal content.
Both companies received warning letters from EU Commissioner Thierry Breton last week, following the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The bloc is ramping up pressure on social media companies to comply with its new online regulations amid the deluge of misinformation and graphic content online.
Neither company responded to a request for comment Friday.
The formal request marks a more aggressive step by the EU, which noted in Thursday’s announcement that it could decide to open formal proceedings against Meta or TikTok depending on their responses.
Meta and TikTok have until Wednesday to provide more information about their “crisis response” and until Nov. 8 address separate concerns about protecting election integrity and minor safety.
While the request to TikTok doesn’t specifically mention the Israel-Hamas conflict, it does ask about the platform’s efforts to stop the spread of terrorist and violent content, hate speech and disinformation.
The Supreme Court said Friday it will consider a social media censorship case brought against Biden administration officials in its next term, setting up a legal battle with resounding implications for online speech. The high court also issued a stay in an injunction ordered by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, pausing its effect until the justices decide the case on its merits. Justices …
Ella Irwin, a former employee for Twitter, now known as X, said working for billionaire Elon Musk after his acquisition of the company was the “hardest experience.” Irwin became head of trust and safety for the company, lasting only seven more months before resigning after Musk publicly criticized actions taken at the company surrounding the issue of misgendering. “It absolutely was the hardest experience …
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, will soon launch two tiers of premium subscriptions, owner Elon Musk said Friday. Musk said one version is “lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads,” and the other is “more expensive, but has no ads,” in a post on X. Musk’s post did not share details as to timing other than saying they will be launching “soon.” The post also declined to mention …
News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
AI chatbots share racist medical claims
Researchers at Stanford School of Medicine found that artificial intelligence chatbots are sharing racist, debunked medical ideas, raising concerns about how the tools are used in the medical field, NBC News reported.
Crypto influencers head to FTX founder trial
Cryptocurrency influencers who have online followings are gathering at the criminal trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the FTX exchange, The New York Times reported.
In Other News
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
Health providers say AI chatbots could improve care. But research says some are perpetuating racism
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As hospitals and health care systems turn to artificial intelligence to help summarize doctors’ notes and analyze health records, a new study led by Stanford School of Medicine researchers cautions that popular chatbots are perpetuating racist, debunked medical ideas, prompting …
President Biden said Friday that the U.S. has secured the release of two Americans taken hostage by Hamas during its terrorist attack against Israel … Read more
Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who wrote a series of memos devising the Trump campaign’s alternate electors strategy in 2020, pleaded guilty to one … Read more
