EU takes action against social media X

The European Commission on Monday opened formal proceedings against X (formerly known as Twitter) to assess if the social media platform is in breach of the European Union's (EU) Digital Services Act (DSA), reported Xinhua.

"We will now start an in-depth investigation of X's compliance with the DSA obligations concerning countering the dissemination and amplification of illegal content and disinformation in the EU, transparency of the platforms and design of the user interface," Thierry Breton, European commissioner for internal market, said.

The decision follows a preliminary investigation regarding, among other topics, "the dissemination of illegal content" in the context of Hamas' attacks against Israel, the Commission said.

In April this year, X was classified as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), exposing it to the most stringent regulations outlined in the DSA.

X is the first VLOP to face formal proceedings under the DSA framework, according to the Commission.