Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, currently employs 2,294 content moderators to oversee compliance with EU online content rules. This number is significantly smaller compared to the more substantial moderation teams at Google and TikTok, as disclosed by a senior European Commission official on a recent occasion.
The EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which has been recently adopted, mandates that 19 major online platforms and 2 leading online search engines, including Google, X, TikTok, Apple, Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook), and Microsoft, must increase their efforts to combat illegal and harmful content on their respective platforms.
Elon Musk’s decision to reduce the number of content-monitoring employees at X has raised concerns, particularly given the growing worries about the widespread dissemination of disinformation on the platform.
According to reports submitted to the EU in September, X employs only 2,294 content moderators. This number stands in stark contrast to Google’s YouTube, which has 16,974 moderators, as well as Google Play with 7,319 and TikTok with 6,125, as revealed by a senior Commission official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Regulators are relying on the pressure exerted on X to increase its content moderation team and stay competitive, according to an official statement. The official emphasized that “peer pressure plays a crucial role in the Digital Services Act (DSA).”
In a significant move, the Commission has expanded its DSA enforcement team from 50 to an impressive 120 members, as disclosed by the official. This expansion aims to address concerns regarding the EU executive’s ability to confront the formidable array of Big Tech executives and lawyers, thereby preventing potential enforcement gaps.
Starting from February 17th next year, all intermediary service providers will be required to adhere to the DSA’s regulations, not just the 19 services initially identified in April.