The European Commission’s tech chief on Tuesday defended the executive’s enforcement of online platform rules before MEPs, after lawmakers urged her to step up against tech CEOs including X’s billionaire owner Elon Musk for alleged breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

“Foreign interference requires a powerful response,” said Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner for tech sovereignty, security and democracy.

“In recent days the European Commission has asked X to provide information on the recommender systems. Strong and timely enforcement is required as well as decisions that stand in court,” she said.

“I will advance with the cases – come to conclusions as legally possible with solid evidence,” she added.

Virkkunen also said that she plans to increase the number of staff working on the DSA, which entered into force in 2023, to 200. 

Lawmakers urged the Commission to wrap up pending probes under the DSA in light of the recent foreign interference on social media platforms in the Romanian and German elections, during a debate in Strasbourg. 

The debate was called after MEPs from across the political spectrum expressed concern at alleged abuses committed by Musk including suspected interference ahead of the German vote relating to his interviewing the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party on his platform earlier this month.

The DSA – which entered into force in 2023 – requires the largest online platforms in the EU to mitigate risks related to their content as well as a high level of transparency.

Urgent investigations

Iratxe Garcia Perez (Spain/S&D) said that Europe is at a “crucial point for defence of democracies”.

“Social media were seen as a tool for progress but are now a dangerous weapon in the hands of those that want to attack EU values. The silence from the Commission is not acceptable. We need to show leadership from the side of the EU.”

“We need to ensure that sanctions are taken without hesitation when violations are confirmed,” said Andreas Schwab (Germany/EPP) calling for priority to be given to legal enforcement. 

Alexandra Geese (Germany/Greens) added that “after weeks of silence, you need to go strong and fast”. 

“We need urgent investigations to identify the mechanism that leads to misinformation, stop the online recommender systems and support better social media that cannot be controlled by tech oligarchs,” Geese added.

ECR group Co-President Nicola Procaccini countered that demands for stricter enforcement of the DSA were “an excessive reaction to the left’s declining dominance over political discourse on social media and the waning influence of mainstream progressive [thought]”.

The Commission has launched several probes for non-compliance under the DSA, but none of them have been wrapped up. Last July, the EU executive issued preliminary findings in the X investigation saying that its blue checks constitute “dark patterns” that are in breach of the DSA.

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X now has a period within which to reply in writing. 

Besides the DSA, the Commission is also working on a so-called Democracy shield – a plan which aims to combat foreign disinformation and domestic threats. It will launch a public consultation on this soon, Virkkunen said.