The European Commissioner for Digital has announced the holding of mock audits for platforms soon to be subject to the legislation on digital services.
In a few months, the major digital platforms will no longer have a choice: if they want to continue to operate on European territory, they will have to strictly comply with the future legislation on digital services (DSA) and markets (DMA).
And Thierry Breton, European commissioner in charge of digital, intends to carry out the application of the law. On France infoThierry Breton thus announced the forthcoming holding of “blank audits” in order to exchange with the platforms soon to be affected by the law.
“I proposed to these platforms to proceed before September, when the law will become law, to carry out blank audits”, indicates the European commissioner.
19 to 25 platforms concerned
These inventories with the platforms will allow the European Commission to make it clear what will be expected of these services in a few months: more respect for individuals online, more protection of privacy but also more control of fakes news and effective transparency on the means of moderation deployed. So many topics that are currently linked to a strong opacity of Facebook, Twitter or TikTok.
The names of the platforms concerned will be revealed in the week after the European Commissioner. They will be “between 19 and 25” to have to submit to DMA and DSA legislation. “We are in the process of finalizing this list but will be concerned platforms which have more than 45 million users on the European continent”, specifies Thierry Breton.
Twitter in the viewfinder
And with its millions of users in Europe, Twitter should not escape it. According to Thierry Breton, Elon Musk has even already accepted the proposal to carry out this blank audit. The European Commissioner also intends to make the billionaire understand that the time for recreation is soon over.
“He does what he wants until September 1. After that, he will do what he is asked to do if he wants to continue operating in European territory. I intend to go to California to participate in this audit myself,” said Thierry Breton.
Asked about the latest developments in the Twitter saga and the mess of the social network’s certifications, Thierry Breton simply indicated that he was “like many Twitter users” and that he had “understood nothing”.
