Twitter dismantles the Brussels office, EU fears about compliance with the rules

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Twitter has dismantled its Brussels office, sparking concerns from EU officials about the social media platform’s ability to comply with strict new rules for scrutinizing online content. According to reports from the Financial Times, Julia Mozer And Dario La NASA, responsible for Twitter’s digital policy in Europe, left the company last week. The two executives had led the company’s efforts to comply with the EU’s anti-disinformation code and the Digital Services Act that came into force last week.

Other Twitter executives from the Brussels office, small in size but considered a crucial conduit for European policymakers, quit earlier this month amid cuts that have eliminated about half of its 7,500-strong workforce. Mozer and Nasa survived the initial cut, but no longer work there after the company’s new owner, Elon Musk, issued an ultimatum last week calling on staff to engage in a “hard work culture”. It is unclear whether the two resigned or were fired.

Brussels’ resignations are symptomatic of a global trend — from India to France — in which local Twitter executives who held key positions dealing with government officials have abruptly left the organization in recent weeks. This has led to growing concern that the company has the staff to ensure compliance with local laws, police online content, potentially opening the company to lawsuits and regulatory action. “I am concerned about the news of the sacking of so many Twitter employees in Europe,” he told the Financial Times Věra Jourová, EU vice-president in charge of the code against disinformation. “If you are to detect and act effectively against disinformation and propaganda, this requires resources.”