2023-10-11 16:47:48
The European Digital Commissioner, Thierry Breton, announced his arrival on the Bluesky social network this Wednesday. His arrival on this rival of X (formerly Twitter) comes after he warned Elon Musk’s platform about the dissemination of false information linked to the conflict in Israel.
In a message posted on, he suggested by making a play on words that Bluesky (“Blue Sky”) could be more virtuous than the service bought by the American billionaire. ” Good morning ! Even if the grass isn’t (always) greener on the other side, the sky is sometimes… bluer. Keep in touch ! », he wrote, accompanying his text with an image of his Bluesky profile.
This new network was created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. Already very popular in Silicon Valley, California, it is still in the development phase and is only accessible by invitation. Bluesky visually and practically resembles Twitter, because its designers want defectors not to be disoriented.
Thierry Breton threatened the social network “Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” the European Union wrote in a letter to Elon Musk.
“It’s up to you to show that you put words into action”
He reminded it of its obligations in terms of moderation and removal of illegal content which arise from the new European legislation on digital services (DSA) in force since the end of August for 19 major platforms. An exchange between the two officials followed.
“Our policy is that everything is open and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports,” the billionaire responded directly to X, a few hours later. “Please list the violations you are referring to on X, so that the public can see them,” he added, before concluding with “Thank you very much,” in French.
“Seen, thank you,” Thierry Breton replied in French, before continuing in English. “You are well aware of the reports from your users – and the authorities – about false content and the glorification of violence. It’s up to you to show that you walk the talk. My team remains at your disposal to ensure compliance with the DSA which the EU will continue to rigorously apply,” underlined the Commissioner.
Less good results than other platforms
Humiliating videos of hostages, decapitated bodies, filmed assassination… Social networks have been flooded with violent images but also with attempts at disinformation, since the attacks carried out last Saturday by Hamas, a challenge for the platforms.
After his takeover of Twitter last year, Elon Musk carried out a massive wave of layoffs which decimated his moderation teams. He regularly reaffirms his vision of freedom of expression, refusing any “censorship”, even if he ensures that the platform respects the laws of each country in this matter. But Brussels, the European capital, was already concerned at the end of September about the rate of misinformation on X, pinpointing its poor results compared to competing platforms during tests.
Since last week, links and press articles shared on X only appear in the form of an image, without title or description, which risks reducing the use of real information sites. Elon Musk himself has attracted a lot of criticism for having encouraged his 160 million followers, the followers, on X to learn about the Israel-Hamas conflict by following two accounts known for spreading false information. The billionaire then deleted his post but it has been viewed millions of times.
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