The European Union told Elon Musk to hire more human moderators and fact-checkers to review posts on Twitter, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing four people familiar with talks between Musk, Twitter executives and regulators in Brussels.
The demand complicates Musk’s efforts to reorganise the loss-making business he acquired for US$44-billion in October. He has slashed more than half of Twitter’s 7 500 staff, including the entire trust and safety teams in some offices, while seeking cheaper methods to monitor tweets, the report said.
The massive layoffs have raised concerns about whether Twitter can comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires Internet platforms to put specific measures in place against illegal content, before the law comes into full effect in early 2024.
Twitter has been leaning heavily on automation to moderate content, doing away with certain manual reviews. It does not employ fact-checkers, unlike larger rival Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, the report said.
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EU industry chief Thierry Breton on a video call in January warned Musk of “huge work ahead” for Twitter to apply transparent use policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and protect freedom of speech. — Kannaki Deka, (c) 2023 Reuters
