In response to the attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist entity HAMAS, X has undertaken the removal of numerous accounts associated with the terror group.
Reason for Deleting Accounts
The rapid reaction by X can be attributed to the 24-hour ultimatum delivered by Thierry Breton, the chief of the European Union, to Elon Musk. In his message, Breton expressed his apprehensions regarding the platform’s purported involvement in disseminating unlawful content and misinformation within the European Union.
The European Union (EU) Digital Services Act (DSA) put into effect mandates that major online platforms such as X and Meta’s Facebook must adopt a proactive stance in removing unlawful content and tackling challenges to public safety and democratic discourse
X indicated that it promptly addressed over 80 takedown requests from the EU as per the stipulated time frame. Furthermore, the platform confirmed that it had not received any notifications from Europol regarding the presence of illicit content on its platforms.
Notice to Facebook
Rivals such as TikTok, YouTube and Facebook are also coping with a flood of unsubstantiated rumours and falsehoods about the West Asian (Middle East Conflict), playing whack-a-mole that erupts each time news captures world attention.
In a comparable action, Thierry Breton also issued a caution notice to Meta on October 9, 2023, granting a 24-hour window to furnish the details about the steps taken to counter the dissemination of disinformation through its platforms in the aftermath of the Israel attack.
Message from the CEO
Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of the social media platform, said, “X is committed to serving 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 organisations and violent extremist groups, and we continue to remove such accounts in real-time, including proactive groups.”
She stressed that subsequent to the attack, X formed a leadership team to swiftly assess the situation, and in a written communication directed to Breton, Yaccarino conveyed X’s readiness to have more extensive interactions with the EU and its team, which would potentially involve arranging a meeting to tackle particular concerns.
HAMAS Attack On Israel
The development has come after HAMAS launched an attack on Israel when it fired 5000 rockets towards the border and hundreds of its terrorists infiltrated the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on October 12, 2023, met the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and thanked the United States of America for standing by them in such harsh times.
Warning the terror organisation, the Israeli PM said, “Hamas is ISIS and just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed. Hamas should be treated exactly the way ISIS was treated. They should be spat out from the community of nations. No leader should meet them, no country should harbour them and those that should be sanctioned.”
