European Commissioner Follows Israel-Hamas Conflict Disinformation Warning To Elon Musk With Letter To Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Melanie Goodfellow
·3 min read
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European Commissioner Thierry Breton has written to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg following a surge in disinformation on the social networks in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict asking him to be extra vigilant about content moderation.

The letter comes less than 24 hours after Breton wrote a similar public letter to X owner Elon Musk asking him to remove disinformation related to the conflict from his platform, formerly known as Twitter.

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“In light of a number of serious developments, let me recall the precise obligations regarding content moderation under the EU Digital Services Act,” Breton wrote in his letter addressed to Zuckerberg which was then posted on the social networks on Wednesday.

“Firstly, following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel we are seeing a surge of illegal content and disinformation being disseminated in the E.U. via certain platforms,” it continued. “I would ask you to be very vigilant to ensure strict compliance with the DSA rules on terms of service, on the requirement of timely, diligent and objective action, following notices of illegal content in the E.U.”

Failure to comply with the disinformation regulations included in the E.U.’s DSA Act carries penalties for platforms, that include potential fines of up to 6% of total worldwide annual turnover.

Breton’s letters to Musk and now Zuckerberg follow the deadly terror attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants out of Gaza on Saturday, which killed 1,200 Israelis according to latest figures released by the country.

Israel has retaliated with a complete siege of Gaza and heavy bombardment of the densely populated Palestinian territory, which is reported to have killed more than 1,000 people so far.

Disinformation around the Israel-Hamas conflict has ratcheted up in recent days with fake news reports including claims that an Israeli general was captured in Saturday’s raids as well as old addresses by Russian President Vladimir Putin overlaid with inaccurate subtitles suggesting he wants to enflame the situation.

Additionally, Breton called Zuckerberg for an update on Meta’s efforts to clampdown on fake news and deepfakes on the platform which he said could impact democratic processes in the E.U.

“I invite you to inform my team without delay on the details of the measures you have taken to mitigate such deepfakes, also in the light of upcoming elections in Poland, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Belgium, Croatia, Romania, Austria, and the European Parliament Elections,” read the letter.

Breton’s message came just hours after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden condemned the Hamas attack on Israel as an act of “war” and “ancient evil” and pledged the bloc’s support for country.

“We have to be clear in defining this kind of horror… there can only be one response to it. Europe stands with Israel. And we fully support Israel’s right to defend itself,” she told a meeting of European commissioners in Brussels.

Read Breton’s letter to Mark Zuckerberg in full below:

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