TikTok must give the EU promises to counter terrorist content, or TikTok must give the EU money

Almost two weeks after the tragic events in Israel and Palestine, the EU is going to war – a war in online space, thank God.

The European Commission is giving TikTok and Meta one week to provide explanations and details on the measures taken to contain, counter and eliminate the spread of terrorist, violent content and hate speech on their platforms (via Reuters).

The Commission sent a formal request to the two companies as researchers highlight the proliferation of disinformation following Hamas’ attack on Israel.

If companies do not provide satisfactory explanations and cannot present convincing arguments as to how this will not happen in the future, the EU’s executive body can open investigations which can quickly lead to almonds.
Major online platforms such as TikTok and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are required to do more to remove illegal and harmful content or face fines of up to 6% of their global turnover, under new content rules online known as the Digital Services Act (DSA). ) which came into force recently.

Meta and TikTok “must provide the requested information to the Commission by October 25, 2023 for questions related to the response to the crisis and by November 8, 2023 for the protection of the integrity of the elections”, indicated the Commission.

It’s good that the EU doesn’t want to see “terrorist and violent content” on TikTok and Facebook. But what would you like to see pro-terrorist and violent acts and demonstrations in real life – on the streets of major European cities? Who are you fining 6% on?