Last Thursday, the Berlin Regional Court asked X/Twitter to share data on the federal elections (which take place two days earlier) before February 25. Given the deadlines, it was unrealistic to think that this data would reverse the course of the elections. Nevertheless, it remains interesting to study them in order to identify possible interference orchestrated by a foreign power. Randomly, Russia, as was the case for the presidential election in Romania with TikTok.
Russian interference, the extreme right and opacity
The plaintiffs, the organization Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and the Society for Civil Rights (Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte, GFF), claim that by refusing them access to essential data, the social network prevented them from finding potential electoral interference. This data is linked to engagement, such as likes, shares, or visibility metrics.
But Elon Musk’s company is dragging its feet. “X is contesting the German court’s jurisdiction to examine the case, on the grounds that its headquarters are in Ireland,” laments DRI. “The company has not provided access to the data, and our window to conduct the study before the election is closing,” the organization notes to Politico.
A hearing is expected to take place following Twitter’s objection, but no date has yet been set. This further delays the possible delivery of the data. This case is a new test of strength for the DSA, the European regulation on digital services, which expressly provides that large online platforms share their data with researchers.
This unwillingness of X/Twitter to give access to its data is already at the heart of an investigation by the European Commission launched last July. At the same time, Elon Musk has activated all his relays to promote the far-right party AfD, which could pass as electoral interference for Brussels.
Source: Politico
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