UK says Twitter ‘must be responsible’ under Musk

Britain on Tuesday said Twitter “has to be responsible” following its purchase by Elon Musk, amid issues it may overly loosen up content material moderation policies beneath the controversial billionaire entrepreneur.

Musk, the world’s richest man, struck a deal Monday to shop for Twitter for £35 billion ($44 billion, 41 billion euros), and has vowed to take a sturdy free speech stance on the social media platform.

That has stoked fears it will become a host for hate and propaganda and depart the onus on customers to combat bullying and misinformation.

“Regardless of ownership, all social media platforms must be responsible and that includes protecting their users from harm on their sites,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman told reporters.

“Obviously, it is too early to say what, if any changes, will be made to how Twitter operates,” he added, noting the site remains an important tool used by world leaders.

“We will continue to work with them to make sure it continues to improve.”

The UK government last month introduced draft legislation to improve online safety, which includes new measures to protect users, in particular children, from harmful content such as pornography and cyber-bullying.

Failure to comply could see online firms face fines up to 10 percent of their annual global turnover if the bill is passed by parliament.

Tech bosses who fail to cooperate and comply would also run the risk of criminal prosecution and jail terms of up to two years, the government has said.

“All companies in (the) scope of the bill will have to balance protecting their users and the importance of upholding free speech,” Johnson’s spokesman said Tuesday.

But he added: “We are certainly unified on the fact that we want to strengthen and defend freedom of expression.”

His remarks come as the European Union warned Musk that Twitter beneath his possession will have to “definitely adapt” to the 27-member bloc’s personal new laws curtailing the electricity of massive tech expected to come into pressure within the coming months.

Lawmakers, there are finalizing the Digital Services Act, so as to set limits on content, and the Digital Markets Act, on the way to limit the approaches tech giants do commercial enterprise.