X removes Hamas-affiliated accounts over Israel attack

Social media platform, X, has removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts and taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content since the militant group, Hamas’ attack on Israel.

The X Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Linda Yaccarino, said this on Thursday, October 12, 2023.

The move came in response to European Union (EU) industry chief, Thierry Breton’s 24 hour-ultimatum to Elon Musk to tackle the spread of disinformation on X – formerly known as Twitter – since the Hamas assault to comply with new EU online content rules.

Breton said he had indications that X was being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the European Union.

The recently implemented Digital Services Act (DSA) requires large online platforms, including X and Meta’s Facebook, to remove illegal content and to take measures to tackle the risks to public security and civic discourse.

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Yaccarino, however, said X has redistributed resources and refocused internal teams to address the rapidly evolving situation.

She added that the Musk-owned company assembled a leadership group to assess the situation shortly after the attack.

“We wish to reiterate that we welcome further engagement with you and your team, including a meeting, to address any specific questions and look forward to receiving further specifics to which we can respond,” Yaccarino said in the letter to Breton and posted on X.

According to Reuters, X has responded to more than 80 take-down requests received in the EU within required the timeline and has not received any notices from Europol regarding illegal content on the platform, the letter states.

Breton issued a similar warning to Meta on Wednesday, giving the company 24 hours to inform him of measures taken to counter the spread of disinformation on its platforms following the attack on Israel.

The Star