After X (formerly Twitter), Meta, and TikTok (see EUROPE 13270/7), the Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, sent a letter to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, and Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, on Friday 13 October, reminding them of their obligations to moderate illegal content and disinformation under the Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 13262/9).
At a time when content of this type - already heavily present online - has been proliferating since the Hamas attack on Israel and the latter’s response, the European Commissioner is urging the digital giants to put in place “appropriate measures” to act quickly and remove problematic content, especially after receiving notifications from the competent authorities.
In addition, the European Commissioner is calling on Google and YouTube to introduce “proportionate and effective” mitigation measures to combat disinformation. This request comes against a backdrop of multiplying conflicts and growing tensions around the world, and at a time when a number of elections are due to take place in the near future, in the Netherlands, Lithuania, Belgium, Croatia, Romania and Austria, as well as the European elections.
Although the letter sent to Google and its subsidiary, Youtube, does not mention, unlike those sent to X, Meta and TikTok, the obligation to respond to the Commission’s requests within 24 hours, Mr Breton nevertheless points out that breaches of the DSA obligations can lead to investigations. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to 6% of the company’s annual worldwide turnover, or even a ban on providing services within the EU single market. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)