THE EU COULD take social media company X’s attempts to tackle disinformation around the riots in the UK into account when determining the outcome of its investigation into the platform’s compliance with EU regulations.

In December, the EU launched its first investigation into a social media company’s compliance with the Digital Safety Act (DSA) after allegedly a slew of disinformation about the 7 October attacks in Israel appeared on X, formerly Twitter.

A spokesperson for the European Commission, the institution in charge of such investigations, today said that the platform’s response to the riots in the UK, including in Northern Ireland, could be used to determine the appropriate response.

Anti-immigration protests, rioting and violent clashes in the streets have been ongoing in the UK over the last week after false claims were spread on social media about the identity of a male accused of a mass stabbing attack in Southport last month.

The EU spokesperson said: “The DSA is only applicable in the EU and was very successful already in similar cases, like the riots that happened in Ireland at the end of last year.”

They added: “That being said, on the current situation in the UK, we cannot be naive of course and there could be potential spill overs into the EU. We are very well aware of this and this is why we are following the situation very closely in the UK and also X’s response to these events.”

The Journal has previously debunked false claims about the attack in Southport last month and the identity of the attacker, which were shared by Irish-owned accounts. 

X is facing the possibility of a hefty fine, up to 6% of their annual global turnover, and the limiting of its operations in the EU with the Commission’s investigation.

Today, the Commission confirmed that the platform’s ability to respond to disinformation about the events in the UK could be taken into account when it is drafting its conclusion and deciding on a consequence following the investigation.

Yesterday, Taoiseach Simon Harris promised to hit social media companies “where it hurts” through fines and holding owners liable for inaction on their platforms.

Harris said this following remarks made by X’s owner, billionaire Elon Musk, about the events in the UK, claiming “civil war is inevitable”. 

“Quite frankly, not enough is being done in this space by anybody anywhere,” the Taoiseach told reporters yesterday.

He added that he plans to convene a meeting of all relevant state agencies, stakeholders, and others to see what more Ireland can do both as a country on our own but also through the European Union.