Twitter’s Brussels office exodus raises alarm bells for online safety
Twitter has reportedly disbanded its entire Brussels office, as Elon Musk continues his rampage of headcount.
According to initial reports from the Financial Times, Julia Mozer and Dario La Nasa, who were in charge of Twitter’s digital policy in Europe, left the company last week.
The pair were reportedly instrumental to the social media company’s approach to the EU’s disinformation code and the landmark Digital Services Act.
Other members of the Brussels team have left the company as a result of mass layoffs, as well as Musk’s new requests for staff to embrace a “hardcore working culture”.
Sources said it is unclear whether Mozer and La Nasa resigned or were made redundant after the billionaire entrepreneur bought the social media platform for $44bn last month.
However, their departures have sparked uncertainty across the regulatory landscape.
“I am concerned about the news of firing such a vast amount of staff of Twitter in Europe,” Věra Jourová, the EU’s vice-president in charge of the disinformation code, told the Financial Times.
“If you want to effectively detect and take action against disinformation and propaganda, this requires resources. “Especially in the context of Russian disinformation warfare, I expect Twitter to fully respect the EU law and honour its commitments. Twitter has been a very useful partner in the fight against disinformation and illegal hate speech and this must not change.”
This was echoed by Eddie Powell, Partner at law firm Fladgate, who said it was a “a high risk strategy for Twitter”.
“Social media companies are at risk from civil claims relating to defamation, breach of privacy and IP infringement in content posted on their platforms,” he said.
“In most cases, a robust process which leads to quick removal of offending content, will head off potential civil claims at the pass. If Twitter does not do that, sooner or later it’s going to find itself mired in court cases.”
Twitter, Julia Mozer and Dario La Nasa were not immediately available to contact.