EU warns Elon Musk of 'penalties' for disinformation circulating on X amid Israel-Hamas war

European officials warned X on Tuesday that the company formerly known as Twitter appears to have been hosting misinformation and illegal content about the war between Hamas and Israel, in potential violation of the European Union's signature content moderation law.

In a letter addressed to X owner Elon Musk, Thierry Breton, a top European commissioner, said X faces "very precise obligations regarding content moderation" and that the company's handling of the unfolding conflict so far has raised doubts about its compliance.

As a platform subject to Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA), X could face billions in fines if regulators conclude that violations have occurred. X didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The warning letter highlights X's potentially vast legal exposure as it battles a wave of bogus claims linked to the war that have been attributed to everything from fake White House press releases to false news reports and out-of-context videos from unrelated conflicts or even video games.

Much of the problematic content appears to stem from platform changes made under Musk's supervision, Breton suggested in the letter, which he shared on X.

For example, he wrote, X announced over the weekend that it was making it easier for accounts to qualify for newsworthiness exceptions to its platform rules. The change to X's Public Interest Policy made it so that accounts no longer require a minimum of 100,000 followers to qualify; they need only be "high profile" accounts that, as before, represent current or potential government officials, political parties or political candidates.

Removing the follower threshold and replacing it with a celebrity standard leaves it "uncertain" what content, particularly "violent and terrorist content that appears to circulate on your platform," will be removed, Breton wrote.