EU Commission extends proceedings against X
EU Commission wants to know how X recommends content and is extending proceedings against the social network. It's also about its influence on elections.
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The EU Commission is extending the proceedings against the social media provider X. This was announced by the authority in Brussels at midday. The proceedings have been ongoing since December 2023 under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The move has been hinted at for weeks. The aim is to shed further light on the provider's recommendation systems, said the new EU Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen in Brussels on Friday.
Disclose algorithms
The Commission requires X to publish internal documents on its algorithms, which recommend content to users, by February 15 and also to disclose changes to these algorithms. X last deposited changes to the Scala and Python versions of the recommendation algorithm in the repositories on GitHub last July.
In addition, the authority has ordered that all internal documents and information on future changes must be stored with immediate effect and may no longer be deleted – This is to apply from today until the end of the year. The DSA supervisory authority is also demanding access to certain application programming interfaces (APIs) of X.
The move has already been announced: In an interview with the business news service Bloomberg, Henna Virkkunen, who hails from Finland, announced earlier this week that the EU Commission was looking into extending the proceedings already underway.
Transparency demanded
In a letter to MEP Damian Böselager (Volt) on Wednesday, the Commission also explained that it would demand “maximum transparency” from platform operators. “In this context, in accordance with Article 27 DSA, X must disclose in its terms and conditions the main parameters for its recommendation systems”, the letter states.
However, possible election interference by platform operators is generally the responsibility of the member states. For the Bundestag elections, a round table with the platform operators is to take place next week to prevent measures against possible external interference.
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The EU Commission is only responsible for the largest companies under the Digital Services Act, and is also empowered by law to demand all necessary information from companies. It may question witnesses, such as current or former employees of the company in question. If further investigations reveal that X has violated the provisions of the DSA, the company could face a fine of up to six percent of its global annual turnover.
(vbr)
