\u201cFollowing the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we are seeing a surge of illegal content and disinformation being disseminated in the EU via certain platforms,\u201d Breton wrote. He added that YouTube has an obligation to protect children and teens in the EU from violent content on the platform, must promptly take action in response to notices from the EU, and have \u201cproportionate and effective mitigation measures in place\u201d to tackle risks from disinformation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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In a statement to The Verge<\/em>, YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi said, \u201cfollowing the devastating attacks in Israel and the escalated conflict now underway in Israel and Gaza, we have removed tens of thousands of harmful videos and terminated hundreds of channels. At the same time, our systems continue to connect people with high-quality news and information. Our teams are working around the clock to monitor for harmful footage and remain vigilant to take action quickly if needed on all types of content, including Shorts and livestreams.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
In his letter, Breton also discussed \u201ca second area of pressing concern:\u201d disinformation in elections. \u201cI invite you to inform my team on the details of the measures you have taken to mitigate any deepfakes, also in the light of upcoming elections in Poland, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Belgium, Croatia, Romania and Austria, and the European Parliament elections,\u201d Breton said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Breton asked that YouTube proactively report relevant information to the EU, but noted that his team will be sending requests on \u201ca number of issues to establish DSA compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n