New EU laws pose a test for Twitter and other U.S. platforms
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A top EU official was in San Francisco this week to deliver two messages to U.S. tech companies: They need to understand what's expected of them under strict new EU laws governing digital businesses, and if they want to keep doing business in Europe, they need to comply with those laws — soon.
Why it matters: Europe's Digital Services Act, which imposes a number of requirements on social media companies, is set to go into effect in late August — and EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said Europe will bar firms that don't follow its rules.
Driving the news: The EU conducted a voluntary "stress test" with Twitter this week, designed to help the company understand how to comply with its new laws, which tighten content moderation standards and add mandates for algorithmic transparency and users' rights to appeal decisions.
- Twitter was the first social network to undergo such a test, but Breton said the EU plans to conduct a similar test next month with TikTok.
- Speaking to reporters on Thursday night, Breton said he left his meeting with Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino (in person) and owner Elon Musk (via video) believing the company has a "strong willingness" to comply with the new EU rules.
Between the lines: Asked by Axios what gave him such confidence, Breton largely demurred, saying it really doesn't matter whether he trusts Musk or not, saying the law is the law and he is prepared to enforce it.
- "My mission is just to make sure as of August 25 they will respect the law or they will not be able to continue to operate in Europe," Breton said.
Breton also declined to say how Twitter fared in the tests, which were largely conducted on Wednesday with EU officials present. "We are not here to say you pass or you didn’t pass," he said.
- EU officials said it was up to Twitter to share any results. A Twitter representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- EU officials did say that Musk referred often during the meeting to the "community notes" feature. Twitter cited internal statistics that found content was less likely to be shared when it had notes appended questioning its veracity.
The big picture: Breton's meeting with Twitter was part of a broader effort to engage with U.S. tech companies regarding a variety of new EU laws — including a competition law known as the Digital Markets Act, which goes into effect next year, as well as another bill covering data access as well as soon-to-be finalized legislation covering AI systems.
- In a speech, Breton said Europe is revoking the "free pass" that allowed tech companies to largely set their own rules in favor of a system akin to the regulations that govern large financial companies.
- "You are welcome in Europe, but according to our rules," Breton said in prepared remarks.
What's next: Breton is set to meet Friday with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as well as executives at chipmaker Nvidia.
