The European Commission has sprung into action recently and that means trouble for some big tech giants in the industry. Remember, we are just months away from the Digital Services Act being implemented in February of 2024 and therefore scrutiny is at an all-time high.
So many of the industry's companies are undergoing investigations to ensure they are in line with the clauses outlined under the law.
Recently, it was discovered that Elon Musk’s popular X app is not exactly where the regulatory body wants it to be in terms of content moderation. Investigations proved how X, previously Twitter, has just a fraction of the number of content moderators seen in other rival firms.
To be more specific, there are just 2,294 content moderators in place that ensure users are complying with the EU rules regarding moderation of online material produced by the company. And when you compare that figure to the likes of Google and TikTok, it’s tiny.
The news was confirmed to be a point of concern for obvious reasons and one senior spokesman for the EC confirmed that on Friday.
Remember, the DSA was only recently adopted and that means the EC has a huge task at hand to make sure all 19 large online apps and 2 very large search engines are doing their best in terms of combatting unlawful content seen online.
No surprises here as to who made the list as all the tech giants ruling today such as TikTok, Google, Apple, X, Meta, and even Microsoft made the list and are now being told to do more to ensure users remain safe and protected from illegal and explicit content online.
So the latest concern is related to X and it’s not surprising to most of us. Remember how the tech billionaire ended up firing so many workers from the content moderation division of the company, citing how it already had enough people doing the task correctly.
But that raised eyebrows at that time online because Musk’s company was at the top of the list in terms of spreading false information online and therefore was requested to do more.
As per reports that were given to the EU, two months back, the current figure for X’s content moderators in action is 2294. Meanwhile, that seen on YouTube is 16974 while that at TikTok was outlined to be 6125.
After making the news public and raising their concerns on the issue, many hope X will wake up and smell the roses and end up boosting the figure for content moderators so that it’s in line with other competitors in the industry.
Remember, the DSA can no longer be avoided and after seeing pressure from other rivals in the industry, we’re sure Musk and his X team will get the shakeup they need.
The official has also pointed out that the EC has more than doubled its own figures of staff members who are working to enforce the DSA. Hence, it was 50 in the past and now has been raised to 120.
Moreover, there have been plenty of concerns regarding EU executives not being able to handle the large number of law officials and executives from such big tech firms. And that may result in big gaps when it comes to enforcement of the law.
Remember, we are just months away from seeing the famous Digital Services Act take center stage. The tentative date will be February 17, 2024, when all big tech names will be required to fulfill the clauses outlined in the Digital Services Act and yes, there are plenty, not just 19 as publicized in April of this year.
Photo: BoliviaInteligente / Unsplash
Read next: European Commission Orders Meta And Snap To Be More Transparent About Child Safety After Calling Out YouTube And TikTok
So many of the industry's companies are undergoing investigations to ensure they are in line with the clauses outlined under the law.
Recently, it was discovered that Elon Musk’s popular X app is not exactly where the regulatory body wants it to be in terms of content moderation. Investigations proved how X, previously Twitter, has just a fraction of the number of content moderators seen in other rival firms.
To be more specific, there are just 2,294 content moderators in place that ensure users are complying with the EU rules regarding moderation of online material produced by the company. And when you compare that figure to the likes of Google and TikTok, it’s tiny.
The news was confirmed to be a point of concern for obvious reasons and one senior spokesman for the EC confirmed that on Friday.
Remember, the DSA was only recently adopted and that means the EC has a huge task at hand to make sure all 19 large online apps and 2 very large search engines are doing their best in terms of combatting unlawful content seen online.
No surprises here as to who made the list as all the tech giants ruling today such as TikTok, Google, Apple, X, Meta, and even Microsoft made the list and are now being told to do more to ensure users remain safe and protected from illegal and explicit content online.
So the latest concern is related to X and it’s not surprising to most of us. Remember how the tech billionaire ended up firing so many workers from the content moderation division of the company, citing how it already had enough people doing the task correctly.
But that raised eyebrows at that time online because Musk’s company was at the top of the list in terms of spreading false information online and therefore was requested to do more.
As per reports that were given to the EU, two months back, the current figure for X’s content moderators in action is 2294. Meanwhile, that seen on YouTube is 16974 while that at TikTok was outlined to be 6125.
After making the news public and raising their concerns on the issue, many hope X will wake up and smell the roses and end up boosting the figure for content moderators so that it’s in line with other competitors in the industry.
Remember, the DSA can no longer be avoided and after seeing pressure from other rivals in the industry, we’re sure Musk and his X team will get the shakeup they need.
The official has also pointed out that the EC has more than doubled its own figures of staff members who are working to enforce the DSA. Hence, it was 50 in the past and now has been raised to 120.
Moreover, there have been plenty of concerns regarding EU executives not being able to handle the large number of law officials and executives from such big tech firms. And that may result in big gaps when it comes to enforcement of the law.
Remember, we are just months away from seeing the famous Digital Services Act take center stage. The tentative date will be February 17, 2024, when all big tech names will be required to fulfill the clauses outlined in the Digital Services Act and yes, there are plenty, not just 19 as publicized in April of this year.
Photo: BoliviaInteligente / Unsplash
Read next: European Commission Orders Meta And Snap To Be More Transparent About Child Safety After Calling Out YouTube And TikTok
