The public initiative portal Mana Balss has started collecting signatures under a petition aimed at restricting or banning the Website Twitter (X) in Latvia.
The listed author of the initiative is one Gvido Oskars Grava, who argues that increasing amounts of information have been appearing in the foreign media about the role of X in openly spreading disinformation campaigns and lies, as stated by the owner of X, Elon Musk himself. Grava says that according to Musk, the European Union is “against freedom of speech and expression” and that such statements are typical for Musk and his rhetoric.
Grava also points out that X has not adapted to the requirements of the EU’s Digital Services Act.
The petition calls on the public, the Saeima (Parliament) and the National Electronic Mass Media Council to evaluate the extent to which X serves the interests of Latvia, the main ideas of the portal and its purpose as a social network.
Grava believes that given the current geopolitical situation in Europe, Latvia would do well in being a frontrunner in this regard. “This would serve as a model for other EU member states,” he says.
The author of the initiative goes on to say this: “The public would benefit from a digital information environment that is of a higher level of quality and is cleaner. We should move toward and make greater use of social and news media in which the flow of information is regulated and checked by human beings, as opposed to artificial intelligence, which is the status quo at X.”
Grava also believes that X users should be encouraged to switch to Facebook, Discord or other social networking platforms which, in his view, satisfy the requirements of the Digital Services Act and serve the interests of specific segments of the target audience.
Source: BNS
(Reproduction of BNS information in mass media and other websites without written consent of BNS is prohibited.)