The European Union told Twitter CEO, Elon Musk to hire more moderators and fact-checkers to review posts on Twitter, the Financial Times reported on Monday, quoting four people aware of conversations between Musk, Twitter executives, and regulators in Brussels.
The demand problematizes Musk’s steps to reorganize the loss-making firm he acquired for $44 billion in October. He has cut more than half of Twitter’s 7,500 staff, including the entire trust and safety teams in some offices while pursuing more affordable techniques to scrutinize tweets, the report said.
The huge layoffs have increased worries if Twitter can concede with the EU’s Digital Services Act which requires internet platforms to put specific measures in place against banned content before the law comes into full effect in early 2024.
Twitter has been relying heavily on automation to moderate content, doing away with certain manual reviews. It does not utilize fact checkers, unlike gigantic rival Meta Platforms Inc, which owns Facebook and Instagram, the report said.
European Union industry chief Thierry Breton on a video call in January warned Musk of “huge work ahead” for Twitter to apply transparent use guidelines, particularly support content moderation.
