EU industry chief Thierry Breton has warned Twitter that the company cannot evade its responsibilities despite withdrawing from a voluntary EU code of practice aimed at combating disinformation. 

The code mandates participating companies to regularly submit progress reports containing data on the amount of advertising revenue they have prevented from reaching disinformation actors. They must also disclose information about the acceptance or rejection of political advertisements and instances of detected manipulative behaviours.

Breton emphasised that Twitter's departure from the voluntary code does not exempt it from its obligations. Starting on 25 August, combating disinformation will become a legal obligation under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA compels major online platforms like Twitter, Google, Meta, Microsoft Corp, and Alibaba's AliExpress to take more substantial measures against illegal online content. Violations of the DSA may result in fines of up to 6% of a company's global turnover.