Elon Musk-owned X could face hefty fines for not controlling harmful content, says report
Elon Musk’s X is facing a formal warning from the European Union for failure to handle hazardous materials. If the platform does not address the concerns raised by EU regulators, it could result in a huge fine.
Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) has been embroiled in controversies many a times. Be it advertisers leaving the platform or AI-generated content spamming users, X has faced several challenges in the last few months. For instance, in April this year, Hyundai announced that it was halting its ad spends on X as the company’s promotions were being displayed alongside harmful content. And now, new trouble may be brewing for the platform.
A Bloomberg report said that X is receiving a formal warning from the EU for failing to deal with hazardous materials. This is the third case in recent weeks when EU regulators have taken strong action against major tech companies. According to sources familiar with the situation, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton is expected to announce the warning before the EU summer holidays.
The report says that if X does not address the European Commission’s initial concerns, a formal decision could be made by the end of the year, resulting in a fine of up to 6 percent of the platform’s revenue. This means that Elon Musk’s platform could be ordered to pay a hefty sum in the future.
The investigation into X began last December when EU regulators launched a probe into the platform’s content management following Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7. The EU has also launched investigations into similar issues at other major platforms including Meta, AliExpress and TikTok. The EU’s proceedings against X are ongoing, with no timeline set for next steps.
Meanwhile, a recent report by the Financial Times shared details about the situation at X. The report said that Elon Musk was pressuring CEO Linda Yaccarino to reduce costs and increase revenue. It also said that the pressure led Yaccarino to make bold moves in her executive team. This strategic reshuffle included the sacking of Joe Benaroch, Yaccarino’s right-hand man and head of business operations and communications.
According to the Financial Times, Benarroch was blamed for mishandling the rollout of the new adult content policy. This failure, which included not informing customers of the changes before they were made public, was a major reason for his departure, as cited by two X employees.
For those who don’t know, Benarroch joined X in June 2023, after working at Comcast’s NBCUniversal, where he reported directly to Yaccarino.
