LONDON (AP) — Twitter has dropped out of a voluntary European Union agreement to combat on the web disinformation, a top rated EU official mentioned Friday.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that Twitter had pulled out of the EU’s disinformation “code of practice” that other important social media platforms have pledged to help. But he added that Twitter’s “obligation” remained, referring to the EU’s challenging new digital guidelines taking impact in August.

“You can run but you can not hide,” Breton mentioned.

San Francisco-primarily based Twitter responded with an automated reply, as it does to most press inquiries, and did not comment.

The selection to abandon the commitment to fighting false facts seems to be the most current move by billionaire owner Elon Musk to loosen the reins on the social media business following he purchased it final year. He has rolled back prior anti-misinformation guidelines, and has thrown its verification program and content material-moderation policies into chaos as he pursues his aim of turning Twitter into a digital town square.

Google, TikTok, Microsoft and Facebook and Instagram parent Meta are amongst these that have signed up to the EU code, which demands providers to measure their operate on combating disinformation and problem frequent reports on their progress.

There had been currently indicators Twitter wasn’t ready to reside up to its commitments. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm, blasted Twitter earlier this year for failing to offer a complete initially report below the code, saying it supplied small distinct facts and no targeted information.

Breton mentioned that below the new digital guidelines that incorporate the code of practice, fighting disinformation will come to be a “legal obligation.”

“Our teams will be prepared for enforcement,” he mentioned.

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