The European Ombudsman regretted that the European Commission did not follow her recommendations to reconsider its decision not to disclose the report on the X platform’s compliance with EU digital rules, in order to ensure the widest possible public access, including to the parts of the report that had been censored in the version published by the platform.
In her decision of 7 May, closing the enquiry opened in September 2024, the European Ombudsman, Teresa Anjinho, challenged “the Commission’s use of a general presumption of non-disclosure” and its refusal to carry out “a concrete and individual assessment of the risk assessment report”. She confirmed her previous conclusion that the Commission had been guilty of maladministration in this case.
The Digital Services Act (DSA) requires very large online platforms to assess certain risks associated with their services, including the dissemination of illegal content, negative effects on fundamental rights and the protection of minors. Annual reports on these risk assessments are sent to the European Commission.
The case concerns a request for public access made by a journalist, who turned to the European Ombudsman after the Commission refused to give him access to X’s first annual risk assessment report. The Commission rejected this request, citing the need to protect the platform’s commercial interests and the investigation launched in December 2023 into X’s compliance with its obligations under the DSA.
The European Ombudsman pointed out that the DSA rules provide for a timetable for publication of the report - or a redacted version - regardless of the progress of the Commission’s assessment, and that only information that can reasonably be considered sensitive can be withheld from the public. (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernández)