Miscellaneous

The EU Publishes Strict Rules on the Responsibilities of social media

The EU has published its Digital Services Act, which it claims will protect citizens’ fundamental rights, provide both businesses and consumers with greater choice at lower costs, reduce the illegal content, give more legal certainty with the harmonisation of rules, make it easier for startup companies and provide them with scalability, and provide democratic control and oversight over “systemic platforms with mitigation of systemic risks, such as manipulation or disinformation” (which is taken to mean in particular Twitter and Facebook). The UK Minister for Communications has also issued a statement promising that the UK will introduce regulations aimed at guaranteeing that UK citizens will enjoy “the safest internet in the world”.

In the same week that the DSA was agreed by the EU, Elon Musk purchased Twitter. This might prove to be a misjudgment on his part, given that Twitter’s content is available globally. Therefore, if he relaxes its present rules and invites back some of Twitter’s notorious ex-subscribers who had been banned for racial and other hate speech, Twitter could well find itself being sued under the new EU law in Europe. The new EU regulations are to be found here:  https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-services-act-ensuring-safe-and-accountable-online-environment_en