Open Markets Senior Fellow Johnny Ryan is quoted in The Irish Times applauding the European Commission’s investigation into Twitter’s online safety and disinformation failures, while urging the Commission to go further to address toxic algorithms.

Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is facing an investigation by the European Commission over potential breaches of new online safety rules in Europe…

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) welcomed the investigation but called for urgent action against what it described as “toxic algorithms” on Twitter/X and other Big Tech platforms. It pointed to Coimisiún na Meán’s draft rules for video platforms that would compel them to stop building profiles on children.

“Coimisiún na Meán is leading the world by forcing Big Tech to turn off its toxic algorithms. Users – not Big Tech’s algorithms – should decide what they see and share online. The European Commission should learn from Coimisiún na Meán’s example, and give everyone in Europe the freedom to decide,” said Dr Johnny Ryan, a senior fellow of ICCL.

Read full article here.