X and TikTok are both under fire from the EU over hate speech and Israel-Hamas disinformation

Elon Musk and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew

Leon Neal/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

TikTok’s CEO and an X executive met with the European Commission’s Věra Jourová on Tuesday.She said they both need to “step up” their efforts to counter hate speech.And warned them about disinformation related to the Israel-Hamas war.

TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, need to “step up” their efforts countering hate speech, a European Commission vice president said.

Věra Jourová, the vice president responsible for the digital economy, met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Nick Pickles, X’s head of global government affairs, on Tuesday.

In posts on X, Jourová said the meetings were constructive but pointed out several areas of improvement, adding that X needs to do more to comply with the Digital Services Act.

That’s a major piece of European Union legislation that took effect in August, and establishes requirements for social media companies to monitor and flag disinformation.

As well as illegal hate speech, Jourová raised concerns about the platforms hosting pro-Hamas content in the wake of its attacks on Israel in October. Like the US, the EU recognizes Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The Israel-Hamas war has opened further scrutiny of the social media companies, with widespread instances of disinformation.

Jourová also criticized X for having an insufficient number of staff speaking some European languages, which would help counter disinformation. And she said the company lacked preparation for next year’s EU elections.

X shut down its office in Brussels, the EU’s capital, which was responsible for complying with the bloc’s laws, a month after Elon Musk took over last year.

X and TikTok did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.