In light of the EU’s concerns about the potential spreading of disinformation, and “terrorist and violent content and hate speech” in particular, investigators are looking into X’s compliance with EU policies concerning illegal content, complaint handling, risk assessment, and mitigation, as set out in its Digital Services Act (DSA).

This investigation is the first launched under the DSA, a law which came into effect in August of this year, setting out a new standard of accountability for online social media and digital platforms on the issues of disinformation, illegal content, and other societal risks.

Categorised by the EU as a “Very Large Online Platform,” which is based on the grounding that it has over 45 million users, X is compelled to be transparent in its content policies, take action on reports of illegal content, and mitigate the risks to public security and civic discourse prompted by disinformation.

The investigation comes just days after EU commissioner Thierry Breton sent a letter to Elon Musk, X’s owner, reminding him that “the Digital Services Act sets very precise obligations regarding content moderation,” and asking for a response within 24 hours.

In response, Linda Yaccarino, X’s chief executive, wrote that “X is committed to serving the public conversation, especially in critical moments like this, and understands the importance of addressing any illegal content that may be disseminated through the platform.

“There is no place on X for terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups and we continue to remove such accounts in real time, including proactive efforts.”

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Despite Yaccarino’s reply, the EU has opened its probe into X following “indications received” of possible disinformation shared on the platform.

TikTok, as another Very Large Online Platform, was warned by the EU yesterday to “urgently step up” its efforts on this front.

Earlier this week, DIGIT covered reports from researchers that disinformation is proliferating on social amid the ongoing conflict.

Justin Peden, or “IntelCrab” — a researcher known for his reliable fact-checking and social media coverage of the war in Ukraine — also said that “For many reasons, this is the hardest time I’ve ever had covering a crisis on here [X].”