EU Demands Meta, TikTok Detail Efforts to Curb Disinformation from Israel-Hamas War

(FILES) This picture taken on April 26, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France, shows a screen displaying the Tiktok social media platform's logo and the European flag. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)
(FILES) This picture taken on April 26, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France, shows a screen displaying the Tiktok social media platform's logo and the European flag. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)
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EU Demands Meta, TikTok Detail Efforts to Curb Disinformation from Israel-Hamas War

(FILES) This picture taken on April 26, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France, shows a screen displaying the Tiktok social media platform's logo and the European flag. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)
(FILES) This picture taken on April 26, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France, shows a screen displaying the Tiktok social media platform's logo and the European flag. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)

The European Union on Thursday demanded Meta and TikTok detail their efforts to curb illegal content and disinformation during the Israel-Hamas war, flexing the power of a new law that threatens billions in fines if tech giants fail to do enough to protect users.
The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive branch, formally requested that the social media companies provide information on how they're complying with pioneering digital rules aimed at cleaning up online platforms, The Associated Press reported.
The commission asked Meta and TikTok to explain the measures they have taken to reduce the risk of spreading and amplifying terrorist and violent content, hate speech and disinformation.
It's the prelude to a possible crackdown under the new digital rules, which took effect in August and have made the EU a global leader in reining in Big Tech. The biggest platforms face extra obligations to stop a wide range of illegal content from flourishing or face the threat of fines of up to 6% of annual global revenue.
The new rules, known as the Digital Services Act, are being put to the test by the Israel-Hamas war. Photos and videos have flooded social media of the carnage alongside posts from users pushing false claims and misrepresenting videos from other events.
Brussels issued its first formal request under the DSA last week to Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton, the bloc's digital enforcer, had previously sent warning letters to the three platforms, as well as YouTube, highlighting the risks that the war poses.



Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump said on Monday he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran's atomic facilities.

"I think they're tapping us along," Trump told reporters after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Oman on Saturday with a senior Iranian official.

Both Iran and the United States said on Saturday that they held "positive" and "constructive" talks in Oman. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, and a source briefed on the planning said the meeting was likely to be held in Rome.

The source, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the discussions are aimed at exploring what is possible, including a broad framework of what a potential deal would look like.

"Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Asked if US options for a response include a military strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, Trump said: "Of course it does."

Trump said the Iranians need to move fast to avoid a harsh response because "they're fairly close" to developing a nuclear weapon.

The US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Joe Biden's term, but they made little, if any progress. The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under then-President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the 2015 international nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned.