Fourteen major European media companies and sports leagues sent a letter to the CEO of the X social media platform (formerly Twitter), “to draw X’s immediate attention to its persistent failings in the fight against the availability of unlawful content on its platform and urgently call for a meeting with X’s representatives to address this unacceptable situation.”
The companies pulled no punches in calling out the company’s shortcomings: “Critically, since you acquired the platform, we have witnessed a demoralizing reduction in technical support making it ever more difficult to engage with the platform in any kind of meaningful discussion on this topic,” they said.
Signatories included the Premier League, Spanish LaLiga football league, Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A league, DAZN, Sky, beIN, DirecTV and Movistar Plus+. Soccer governing bodies UEFA and CONMEBOL also signed the letter. The letter was obtained by The Associated Press, and the AP’s reporting is quoted in this article
Further reading
Top soccer leagues and broadcasters send letter to X demanding more action against illegal content. Article. July 31, 2024. The Associated Press
Elon Musk’s X is the ‘home of social media piracy,’ sports leagues say. Article. By Matt Binder. August 2, 2024. Mashable
Why it matters
Sports programming is among the world’s most valuable media content, and the letter’s signatories said that the lack of anti-piracy effort by X made their own efforts “hugely inefficient.” In addition, the letter’s signatories said that X does not comply in full to its obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act.
