The EU Commission announced it is investigating X over allegations of “illegal content and disinformation.”

Elon Musk axed most of Twitter’s moderation team when he purchased the company. Since then, the platform has faced ongoing claims that hate speech and misinformation have risen significantly. Concerns have peaked in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel.

The EU is now opening an investigation into X under the Digital Services Act (DSA):

Today the European Commission services sent to X a formal request for information under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This request follows indications received by the Commission services of the alleged spreading of illegal content and disinformation, in particular the spreading of terrorist and violent content and hate speech. The request addresses compliance with other provisions of the DSA as well.

The Commission wants to determine if X’s moderation practices and procedures are up to the task:

In this particular case, the Commission services are investigating X’s compliance with the DSA, including with regard to its policies and practices regarding notices on illegal content, complaint handling, risk assessment and measures to mitigate the risks identified. The Commission services are empowered to request further information to X in order to verify the correct implementation of the law.

X has until October 18 to begin responding:

X needs to provide the requested information to the Commission services by 18 October 2023 for questions related to the activation and functioning of X’s crisis response protocol and by 31 October 2023 on the rest.