X CEO Linda Yaccarino responded to the European Commission’s letter expressing concern for the safety of the social media platform after the attacks in Israel by Hamas, saying that “X is committed to serving the public conversation.”
European Union official Thierry Breton penned a personal letter to X owner Elon Musk, which he simultaneously shared online on Tuesday. The letter asked Musk to reign in his platform from reports of misinformation regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Musk replied to Breton’s post saying that X is “open source and transparent.”
Breton replied to Musk saying “You are well aware of your users’ — and authorities’— reports on fake content and glorification of violence. Up to you to demonstrate that you walk the talk.”
Yaccarino officially replied with a letter late Wednesday that reinforced the restrictions in place on the platform.
“Everyday [sic] we’re reminded of our global responsibility to protect the public conversation by ensuring everyone has access to real-time information and safeguarding the platform for all our users,” Yaccarino wrote. “In response to the recent terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, we’ve redistributed resources and refocused internal teams who are working around the clock to address this rapidly evolving situation.”
The X CEO noted that work to enforce the safety of the social media platform is “ongoing.”
“In accordance with your request to respond in 24 hours, this is a high level summary of our work, noting we are actively working to address the operational needs of this fast-moving and evolving conflict,” Yaccarino said.
The X CEO wrote, “There is no place on X for terrorist organization or violent extremist groups and we continue to remove such accounts in real time, including proactive efforts.”
Yaccarino noted the efforts of X to remove and label thousands of pieces of content on the site.
“Shortly after the news broke about the Hamas attack, X assembled a leadership group to assess the situation,” Yaccarino said.
The X CEO then ran through all of the policies in place to prevent misuse of the platform including Crisis response, X Rules, Public Interest Exceptions, Policy Enforcement and Illegal Content, Law Enforcement, and Community Notes.
Yaccarino said, “X is committed to transparency, safety and the successful implementation of the DSA and will continue to take all appropriate steps to that end.”
“We wish to reiterate that we welcome further engagement with you and your team including a meeting, to address any specific questions and look forward to receiving further specifics to which we can respond,” Yaccarino said specifically addressing Breton.
“This response is based on the understanding that your letter constitutes an expression of concern — which we take very seriously — but does not constitute a formal notification or request under the DSA or any other legal provision,” the X CEO concluded.
