The Enforcer is coming after US technology companies demanding a stress test on the truth. No, this isn't The Onion.
Politico reports EU’s Breton Wants to ‘Stress Test’ Silicon Valley Giants.
The European Union's Thierry Breton wants Big Tech to know that he's "the enforcer."
The internal market commissioner will travel to California next month to carry out "stress tests" to see how social media companies are preparing for new content rules, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The French politician told POLITICO that he and European Commission officials would meet with Google, Twitter and Meta Platforms during his trip to the United States, most likely during the week of June 19. At least some of those companies would participate in the informal checks to see if they are ready for the new rules, which come into force in August, and carry fines of up to 6 percent of a firm's annual revenue.
"We are going there, but don't want to be vocal before because I don't want to speak too much. But we offer this and I'm happy that some platforms took our proposal," Breton said of the non-binding compliance checks. "I am the enforcer. I represent the law, which is the will of the state and the people."
"It's a voluntary basis, so we don't force anyone" to join the code of practice on disinformation, Breton said. "I just reminded (Musk and Twitter) that by August 25, it will become a legal obligation to fight disinformation."
