Germany tells Elon Musk it expects Twitter to fight disinformation

Germany’s digital minister recently met Elon Musk to clarify what Berlin expects from Twitter, especially in fighting disinformation, since the Tesla founder took over the social media firm, the digital ministry said on Friday.

Digital and Transport Minister Volker Wissing, who was in California at the start of 2023, told Musk that Germany expects Twitter to voluntarily comply with commitments to fight disinformation, a spokesperson for the ministry said.

Wissing also told Musk he expects Twitter to adhere in future to the Digital Services Act, agreed by the European Union’s 27 member states and lawmakers in April 2022, which requires online platforms to do more to police the internet for illegal content.

“There was a very open and long talk,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that Musk made reassurances to Wissing.

The German government will continue to critically observe the situation at Twitter, added the spokesperson, who would not comment in detail about individual statements by Musk.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox.