Twitter has lost its last remaining employees in Brussels – and of all things at a time when the company is under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and authorities. The news agency reports Bloomberg with reference to the Financial Times.
The small office of six has been reduced to two in recent weeks after Elon Musk embarked on drastic downsizing. However, the remaining two members left the company after Musk urged employees to embrace a “hardcore” work culture.
Julia Mozer and Dario La Nasa, Senior Public Policy Managers and the last two employees remaining in the Brussels office, left the company last week, according to informed circles. Mozer and La Nasa have not yet been reached for comment. A spokesman for Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Important control center
The Brussels office has been a key hub for Twitter to grapple with and monitor compliance with a spate of European regulations, many of which have only recently come into force. The social media platform is increasingly facing accusations that it is failing to combat hate speech and disinformation.
European regulators and officials, meanwhile, have urged Twitter to comply with its regulatory requirements. Hours after billionaire Musk took over the company for $44 billion, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton sent a request to the new owner to “follow our rules,” reports Bloomberg.
The EU regulation called Digital Services Act gives governments more power to enforce rules governing how tech companies moderate content and when to remove illegal content. If Twitter doesn’t comply, the company faces fines of up to 6 percent of annual revenue and could even be banned.
However, Musk has assured the European supervisory authorities that Twitter will comply with the law, according to informed circles. However, the recent large-scale job cuts have also affected much of the company’s management. Last Sunday, the French Twitter boss also announced his resignation.
Meeting in Dublin
After a meeting with Twitter employees in Dublin on Thursday, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders also stressed that the company must comply with the EU’s strict data protection rules. He said Twitter had made solid commitments to protecting users’ data, stressing that the Dublin team had a responsibility.
“What we’ve seen over the last few weeks is very disturbing,” Reynders said at a news conference. “We have received a clear commitment from Twitter shareholders and the team in Dublin” to work on this, “but we now need to see concrete actions to fully comply with the requirements.”
Compliance will be complex and costly. From next summer, Twitter and all major online platforms must give their users the ability to report illegal content and provide enough staff to moderate content across the EU. Companies are also required to provide a risk assessment showing how they curb legal but harmful content, including misinformation and harassment.
The handling of content on Twitter is not only closely monitored in the EU. In the United States, a group of Democratic Senators Federal Trade Commission asked to investigate whether Twitter violated consumer protection laws or his consent statement under Musk’s leadership.