Commission turns to its own rules to take down official’s leaked call

The European Commission asked YouTube to remove a leaked recording of a senior official’s conversation with a Brussels-based journalist, invoking the EU’s digital rulebook, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

The leaked call, which appeared on the platform earlier in March, was uncontroversial in content but drew more than 5,000 views and sparked fears of interception or spyware in Brussels media circles and the EU diplomatic community.

“The Commission, as an affected user, has reached out to the platform, asking for the takedown of the content,” Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said.

It did so under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which allows users – under Article 16 – to flag illegal content for review, requiring platforms to act without undue delay.

“That platform has been very cooperative, and it has been taken down,” Regnier added. The video link now leads to a notice saying the content is unavailable following a third-party privacy claim.

Internal…