The European Commission stops paying to promote its content on the social network X (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, which constantly challenges European rules on digital matters. This was confirmed by the digital affairs spokesperson, Thomas Reigner, in a press conference. The community government, however, maintains its presence on the platform as part of its communication strategy.
“We have stopped paying X for promoted content. It is a constant monitoring effort,” the community spokesperson responded to questions from journalists. Given the flight of X institutions due to the increase in disinformation campaigns that have occurred in recent months, the European Commission has decided to remain on the platform as one of the formulas to reach citizens.
In fact, it is a fairly common policy that announcements regarding the actions of the community government are made through that social network against which it has several procedures open for non-compliance with the digital services law. In July, Brussels formally accused X of violating rules regarding the transparency of advertising and access to public data. He also questioned the payment account verification model implemented by the American tycoon.
As part of that investigation, which can culminate in a fine of up to 6% of the company’s global turnover, the European Commission has recently requested additional information about the change in its algorithms to determine whether it favors the far right. The decision came at a time when European governments are asking Brussels for more ambition in the face of the excesses of technological powers. Before the Davos forum, Pedro Sánchez proposed this Wednesday to strengthen regulation to put an end to anonymity in networks, “open the black box of algorithms” and demand accountability from the owners of platforms that fail to comply with EU rules.
The European Commission has a presence on 15 platforms as part of its communication strategy, according to the spokesperson. In 2023, the community government prohibited its staff from using TikTok on the phones they use for work. The community government gave the order to eliminate the Chinese application from corporate devices or those used for work purposes. The reason given in Brussels for making that decision, which was previously adopted for public workers in the US, is “security” due to the fear of cyber attacks in the corporate environment of the community government. After its announcement, the Council joined in.
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