2:30 p.m., April 30, 2022
The showdown between Elon Musk and Thierry Breton has begun. Barely had he completed the $44 billion takeover of Twitter, the most turbulent social network on the digital planet, the self-proclaimed billionaire “free speech absolutist”split a tweet on April 26 at 8:26 p.m. “The extreme antibody reaction of those who fear free speech speaks volumes” ? European Commissioner Thierry Breton, the main architect of the DSA (Digital Services Act) regulation, has been warned.
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The text, which has yet to be reviewed on the margins by MEPs and the Council, will come into force in all the countries of the European Union during 2023. Will it be big enough to curb the network of the South African, Canadian and American? “We have already shown the way towards a European standard with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and now the DSA, the EU has rearmed itself to fight against the countless misinformation and fraud conveyed by the major platforms”believes Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, Vice-President of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee at the European Parliament and member of the Renaissance group.
“Defamation spaces”
If she says she cherishes freedom of expression, the MEP protests against “defamation spaces and outlets of hate” maintained by some major social networks. “Of all the platforms, Twitter is the one that conveys the most hate messages in an almost organic way because of its short formats and the retweets it allows, which makes it immediately viral”, rebounds Me Bruno Ducoulombier, partner of the cabinet Derriennic, specialized in new technologies. For Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, there is no doubt that the DSA regulation will reframe the major networks. “They will have to demonstrate that they have done everything possible to moderate their content, be transparent about their algorithms which express ideological choices and they could be heavily sanctioned if they do not”she explains.
That’s not all, users will be able to challenge the moderations offered by the major networks. “Currently, although they can attack them, users do not go to litigation because it costs too much, except when they are defended by an association, a political party or a large company”submits Bruno Ducoulombier. “Whatever the surprises promised by Elon Musk to Twitter users, the European system should calm his enthusiasm”, according to Me François-Pierre Lani, of the Derriennic firm. The reason ? The sanction provided for by the DSA can reach up to 6% of the overall turnover of a network. It remains to be seen whether the European authorities will have the human means of their ambitions to mark out the most turbulent of networks.
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