Meetings with Twitter
Alexander Fanta made this access to documents request to Communications Networks, Content and Technology Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.
Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
- All documents related to meetings with Twitter (X) since June 1, 2023. This is meant to include meeting minutes, e-mails, etc.
I note that I have made a separate request for the risk assessment or risk assessments provided by X (Twitter) according to the Digital Services Act. I ask to keep these two requests separate from each other.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 06/10/2023 and registered on 06/10/2023 under the case number
2023/5854.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 27/10/2023. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
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1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Sir,
We refer to your request for access to documents, registered under the
reference number EASE 2023/5854.
Your application is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a
position to complete the handling of your application within the time
limit of 15 working days, which expires today. An extended time limit is
needed as different consultations need to be done.
Therefore, we have to extend the time limit with 15 working days in
accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding
public access to documents.
The new time limit expires on 21 November 2023.
We apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team
Dear Mr Fanta,
We refer to your request for access to documents, registered under the
reference number EASE 2023/5854.
Unfortunately, we are not able to send the reply to your application
within the given time limit, which expires today.
You will receive the answer to your application as soon as possible.
We apologize for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team
Dear Sir,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 06/10/2023 and initially registered on 06/10/2023 under the case
number 2023/5854.
As your request concerns also aspects related to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on
contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives
(EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act), your request has
been split on 27/11/2023 and the aspects related to the Digital Markets
Acts will be treated under case number 2023/7066.
You will receive a substantiated reply shortly.
Best regards.
COMP Access to documents team
Dear Sir,
We refer to your application dated 6 October 2023 in which you make a
request for access to documents, registered on 27 November 2023 under the
above mentioned reference number.
Please find attached a scan of the reply to your request for access to
documents, signed by the Director General.
Kind regards,
Vicky VAN DELSEN
Case Secretary
European Commission
DG Competition
Unit J.3 – Markets and cases VI: Digital Platforms III
MADO 15/25
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2 298 81 23
[1][email address]
References
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1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Ms Van Delsen,
I just would like to ask for one clarification before taking any further action. In my request (EASE 2023/7066), I asked for "documents related to meetings with Twitter (X)". But in your reply, you state that "all the documents of the case file have been gathered or drawn up by the Commission in order to take a decision on Apple’s compliance with the DMA". As my request concerns documents related to X, are you certain they belong in the case file for a DMA case regarding Apple?
Yours sincerely,
Alexander Fanta
Dear Mr Fanta,
This is a typo, they are not part of an Apple file.
Apologies for this.
Kind regards,
Vicky Van Delsen
Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Meetings with Twitter'.
I am honestly a bit confused about the reply I received. I asked for lobby documents about X (Twitter) and was told those form part of a case file in a pending investigation under the Digital Markets Act. However, the spokesperson service confirmed to me "there is no ongoing investigation on X under the DMA". Therefore I believe the grounds for refusal under Article 4(2), third indent, protection of the purpose of investigations, to be moot. If there is no ongoing investigation, then these documents can hardly be protected by this exception. The mere possibility of a future investigation, in my view, would not be sufficient grounds as this would mean that nearly any document related to a digital market actor could then hypothetically become part of a case file.
As regards the grounds for refusal of the documents under Article 4(2), first indent, commercial interest, I note that European Ombudsman rulings state that as not all information about a company is commercially sensitive, a test should be performed each time to conclude whether the exception applies (see European Ombudsman Case: 1701/2011/ANA 24 June 2013; Case: 676/2008/RT 07 July 2010.) The goal should be to determine whether disclosure would actually undermine the commercial interests of the company (see European Ombudsman Case: 1922/2014/PL 30 August 2016). I note that in several cases the Ombudsman has found insufficient grounds for refusal (European Ombudsman Case: 676/2008/RT 07 July 2010; Case: 181/2013/AN 16 February 2015). I further note that the Commission is not bound by objections from the third party involved. In this light, I ask the Commission to consider whether this exception actually applies to the documents in question.
Further, I note that the reply I received erroneously refers to documents on "Apple’s compliance with the DMA". Could there simply have been a misunderstanding? Or, if otherwise, please clarify why documents about X have landed in Apple's case file.
In regard to the content of the documents, I argue there is an overriding public interest in disclosure. There is a considerable public debate about the prevalence of hate speech and disinformation on X, as has been discussed in a recent study published by the European Commission. Public figures such as the mayor of Paris have started to leave the platform over those concerns. The documents in question likely shine a light on matters related to these concerns, including regulatory action. I therefore argue that these „succinct“ circumstances, as the court put it in the Pari Pharma case (T-235/15), merit disclosure. I further argue that the disclosure of the documents in question specifically must be seen as “pressing concern” as outlined in the ClientEarth case of the European Court of Justice (T-245/11) .
As regards the initial reply, I was not provided with a list of the documents in question, even though this is customary even in the case of a refusal. Please provide my with a list of documents regardless of whether you decide to grant access.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
References
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1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/5854, sent on 30/11/2023 and registered on 30/11/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 21/12/2023. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/7066, sent on 30/11/2023 and registered on 08/12/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 09/01/2024. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/5854.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
European Commission
DG CONNECT — ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Rue de la Loi, 51
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
Dear Commission,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Meetings with Twitter', specifically to the reply received from DG Connect on December 18, 2023 under the reference number EASE 2023/5854. (There is a separate confirmatory application regarding the refusal of disclosure by DG Comp.)
As regards the non-disclosure of documents forming part of the case files under the DSA
under the exceptions for commercial interest and investigations, I object to the general presumption against disclosure, even if I believe that non-disclosure can be merited in certain cases. As I understand, the legal argument by the Commission rests on the assumption that, because similar right to be heard and access to file provisions exist in the DSA as do in merger proceedings, this establishes a commonality in obligations to secrecy. Without being a jurist myself, I would like to challenge this assumption on the basis of a few common sense arguments.
I believe DSA enforcement should not be likened to merger cases or antitrust investigations, where secrecy is due to the clear commercial interest of the parties and fear of influencing markets. Rather, DSA enforcement should be seen like hygiene inspections in restaurants, where the public should have a right to know about infractions for their own personal safety and health. (Indeed, in Germany public authorities routinely disclose such hygiene inspection reports on restaurants.)
I further wish to object to the general assumption deriving from the Commission's valid argument that disclosure could “lead to a situation where undertakings subject to investigations and potential informants and complainants would lose their trust in the Commission's reliability and in the sound administration of DSA files.” It is clear that non-disclosure is merited in the case of protecting informants and complainants, as well as when dealing with information that would jeopardize the market position of the enterprise. But, in my view, this should not create a blanket assumption of non-disclosure relating, for instance, to information provided lawfully according to Article 67 of the DSA.
As regards the non-disclosure of documents under the “commercial secrets'' exception of Regulation 1049/2001, I believe that enforcement failings by an online platform, such as Twitter’s apparent shortcomings in removing hate speech, or problematic policies on removing content that challenges the integrity of public discourse, should not be seen as “commercial secrets” even if their disclosure might have market implications. Selective non-enforcement of laws, however much it might save money on content moderators, can not be seen as “business strategy” meriting protection from public scrutiny.
As regards the non-disclosure of documents based on the protection of ongoing decision-making, any investigation into DSA non-compliance is likely to take months, if not years, and can easily be challenged at the Court, therefore extending the time frame even further into the future. I believe that, given the clear risks created by the public through the conduct of online platforms such as Twitter, a delay in disclosure is unacceptable.
Furthermore, as the Commission argues that “information could easily be misinterpreted or misrepresented as indications of the Commission's possible final assessment in this case”, I note that Commission figures including Commissioner Breton have made significant public statements regarding shortcomings of Twitter and other very large platforms in their DSA compliance. The standard of public discourse thereby established means that disclosure is unlikely to further prejudice the public opinion on the Commission’s procedure.
The documents in question likely hold key information on the question of whether an online platform, in this case Twitter, can be seen as safe to use for the public. Public institutions and figures across Europe are grappling with the question over whether Twitter is still an appropriate place for disseminating public service information, as indeed is the Commission. These debates clearly show there is a strong public interest in understanding the measures and safeguards that Twitter and other very large online platforms are taking to combat risks from hate speech, disinformation, election manipulation and harm to children. The enforcement of DSA policies has clear and tangible effects of the exercise of fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and the right to privacy. The trust of parties needs to be weighed with these fundamental rights concerns. The Commission should not try to hide potential misconduct and systemic failings at compliance from the public. I therefore believe this should constitute an overriding public interest in disclosure.
Kind regards,
Alexander Fanta
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/5854, sent on 22/12/2023 and registered on 08/01/2024.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 29/01/2024. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear Mr Fanta,
We are writing to you concerning your email of 30 November 2023,
registered on 8 December 2023 in case EASE 2023/7066, by which you submit
a confirmatory application in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council
and Commission documents.
Your confirmatory application is currently being handled. However, we have
not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full
analysis of your request and to take a final decision in your case. We
will not be able to send you the reply within the prescribed time limit
expiring on 9 January 2024.
Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 we
need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new time
limit expires on 30 January 2024.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours sincerely,
SG.C1 - Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents
Dear Mr Fanta,
We are writing to you concerning your correspondence of 22 December 2023,
registered on 8 January 2024, by which you submit a confirmatory
application in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents in the case EASE 2023/5854.
Your confirmatory application is currently being handled. However, we have
not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full
analysis of your request and to take a final decision in your case. We
will not be able to send you the reply within the prescribed time limit
expiring today, on 29 January 2024.
Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 we
need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new time
limit expires on 19 February 2024.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours sincerely,
SG.C1 - Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents
Dear FANTA, Alexander,
Please find attached the electronic version of European Commission
Decision C(2024)5689 as adopted by the European Commission on 01/08/2024
concerning the request 2023/7066.
In accordance with the Terms and Conditions of this portal, please note
that this decision is being formally notified pursuant to article 297 TFEU
through this electronic platform only.
Yours sincerely,
Access to documents team - SG.C.1