EU says Twitter submitted incomplete disinformation report

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Twitter failed to turn in a complete report on how the social media platform addresses disinformation, according to the European Union's executive body, the European Commission.

Last year, the European Parliament approved the Digital Services Act, which requires social media outlets to submit reports detailing disinformation and foreign influence on their platforms.

According to European Commission, Twitter submitted incomplete data, without a defined plan for how the company would work with fact-checkers to confront disinformation.

"All signatories have submitted their reports on time, using an agreed harmonized reporting template aiming to address all commitments and measures they signed onto," the European Commission said in a news release Thursday.

"This is however, not fully the case for Twitter, whose report is short of data, with no information on commitments to empower the fact-checking community," the press release continued.

Social media companies are required to provide information on how they identify disinformation and manipulation and how they address monetized propaganda under the new regulation.

For the time being, the reports are voluntary, but when the Digital Services Act becomes enforceable, which is expected to happen the year, companies that don't comply could be subject to legal actions, including fines.

"I am disappointed to see that Twitter report lags behind others and I expect a more serious commitment to their obligations stemming from the code," said Vera Jourava, the European Commission's vice president for values and transparency,

"Russia is engaged also in a full-blown disinformation war and the platforms need to live up to their responsibilities," Jourava added.