The recent French riots in France have brought attention to the inadequate moderation of harmful content on social media platforms, according to European Commissioner Thierry Breton.
In an interview with France Info radio, Breton stated that social media platforms, including apps from Snap Inc. and TikTok Inc., did not do enough to prevent the spread of harmful content. When approached for comment, representatives for Snap Inc. and TikTok Inc. did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s requests.
The French riots in the cities erupted following the fatal shooting of a teenager by the police on June 27.
President Emmanuel Macron identifies widely shared video footage on social media as a contributing factor to youth unrest. Macron believes that the content on social media intensified the riots.
Starting from August 25, European law will impose fines and suspensions on platforms that fail to comply with regulations requiring the removal of “content that is hateful, that calls to revolt and to kill.”
Breton highlighted this in the radio interview, referring to the EU’s Digital Services Act, which grants governments greater authority to compel large tech companies to take down illegal content. “If they fail to act, immediate sanctions will be imposed,” emphasized Breton.
He further emphasized that authorities will swiftly intervene against platforms that do not adhere to the law, stating, “Platforms will have to show us that they are in a position to apply the law.”
Additionally, to address the issue of content moderation, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms Inc, has hired an additional 1,000 people. Breton called for Meta to ensure that its new Threads app complies with EU law before launching it in the bloc. – Bloomberg
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
