Twitter has dropped out of a voluntary European Union agreement to combat online disinformation, a top EU official said Friday.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that Twitter had pulled out of the EU's disinformation 'code of practice' that other major social media platforms have pledged to support. 

But he added that Twitter's 'obligation' remained, referring to the EU's tough new digital rules taking effect in August.

The French politician sensationally added: 'You can run but you can't hide.'

San Francisco-based Twitter responded with an automated reply of a 'poop' emoji, as it does to most press inquiries, and did not comment.

The decision to abandon the commitment to fighting false information appears to be the latest move by billionaire owner Elon Musk to loosen the reins on the social media company after he bought it last year. 

The code was written by the industry players themselves and contains over three dozen pledges such as better cooperation with fact-checkers and not promoting actors distributing disinformation. 

There were already signs Twitter wasn't prepared to live up to its commitments. 

The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive arm, blasted Twitter earlier this year for failing to provide a full first report under the code, saying it provided little specific information and no targeted data.

Source - Mail Online/Twitter - Image - Reuters