Brussels, 24 December 2022 (TDI): The State Secretary for Economic Affairs of Germany, Sven Giegold wrote a letter to European Union (EU). In the letter, he appealed EU to consider regulating Twitter’s abrupt & arbitrary choices.
The letter was addressed to EU’s Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager and Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. It came after Twitter suspended journalists’ accounts, limiting their freedom of expression.
Notably, reporters for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and Voice of America were among those whose accounts were taken down.
Also read: Elon Musk becomes Twitter’s New Chief.
Giegold asked the EU to launch an investigation to prevent Twitter’s anti-competitive behavior. He added, “The EU should use all the possibilities at its disposal to protect competition and freedom of speech on digital platforms.”
“General terms and conditions that change almost every hour and the blocking of journalists threaten freedom of competition. It risks freedom of expression, information, and the press.” Giegold’s letter statement read.
European Union response
The EU confirmed receiving the letter saying it would reply in due course. The statement added that the Commission is following the developments at Twitter closely.
The Commission said that it was working quickly to implement the new regulations. Along these lines, the statement said, “The power of the big platform over public discourse needs necessary safeguards. It can protect fundamental rights.”
Also read: Is Twitter going down?
The EU’s Vice President for values and transparency, Vera Jourová, warned Musk that Twitter could face sanctions soon.
“The EU’s Digital Services Act taking effect next year requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines and sanctions.” Jourová tweeted.
UN condemnation
United Nations (UN) condemned Twitter’s decision to block journalists. UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, “We’re very disturbed by the arbitrary suspension of accounts of journalists that we saw on Twitter.”
“The move sets a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists all over the world are facing censorship & threats”. He concluded.
