Summary

A German court ruled that Elon Musk’s X must immediately provide researchers with data on politically related content ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 election.

The lawsuit, filed by Democracy Reporting International and the Society for Civil Rights, accused X of blocking efforts to track election interference.

The ruling enforces the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), requiring major platforms to grant researcher access. It also orders X to pay legal costs and imposes a €6,000 procedural fine.

The decision sets a legal precedent, but it remains unclear if X will appeal.

  • wildflower@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    €6,000 is peanuts to the worlds richest man, they should shut down access to the site until X comply.

    • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
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      21 minutes ago

      A fine does not mean you get to keep doing it. Initially it just proves that tasking 4 people to just get the data would have been cheaper. Now he needs to do that and still task the people.

      Next step is escalating if they do not comply. They did the same in Brazil escalating all the way to turning off Twitter.

      I guess what I’m saying is “patience grasshopper”

    • barsoap@lemm.ee
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      1 hour ago

      Can’t find any proper information anywhere (someone link me the judgement) but that sounds like “you were supposed to file stuff in triplicate now we have to copy shit, here’s a fine” territory.

      Here’s the press release of DRI itself, they don’t even mention it.

    • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      Even 1000x that fine would just be a rounding error to him. What gives with the low-ball punishment?

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        Legal penalties are often (mostly?) a set monetary amount. We need percentage penalties.

      • reksas@sopuli.xyz
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        3 hours ago

        propably just doing things by the book without thinking or their legal system doesnt have a way to fine billionaires so they just let the bastard go without punishment.

  • DuckWrangler9000@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    The fact that it hasn’t been banned outright in the EU is cowardice. This is such a horrible timeline we are living in. How in the world did the biggest governments in the entire world and legal systems just get cucked to the point where a literal hate platform ran by a Nazi sympathizer throwing sig heils all over the place is even allowed in Europe?

    • danc4498@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      Me-first politics is so convincing to so many people. And so easy to manipulate to benefit the powerful.

      In America, Republicans I know would call Trump’s tax a great achievement because they got $50 a month in tax breaks. Meanwhile corporations and the mega wealthy were the only ones really benefiting from it.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      I wouldn’t be surprised if the politicians over there don’t realize there are alternatives. I have yet to meet a politician that I would consider tech literate, much less tech savvy, and I am including Bernie in that. He may be an awesome politician, but he really doesn’t understand computers. The nice part is that he knows that, and listens to his IT guys.

  • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    All public social media data including the algorithm should be openly accessible to every government the network operates in.