EU Probes Meta: Political Content & Disinformation
The European Commission has formally launched an investigation into Meta's management of political content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
The inquiry centres on a suspected Russian influence campaign allegedly conducted on the company's platforms, as well as Meta's adherence to EU legislation regarding disinformation moderation, according to the BBC.
In the lead-up to upcoming elections in the EU and other regions, European officials will be evaluating whether Meta's approach to moderating disinformation on its platforms complies with EU law. A key concern is how Meta supervises its advertising tools and whether malicious actors have exploited them.
The investigation will also delve into the transparency surrounding Meta's moderation of content and political accounts.
"Meta has a well-defined process for identifying and mitigating risks on its platforms," the company stated in a press release. "We look forward to continuing our work with the European Commission and providing them with more details on these activities."
Meta is one of several technology companies designated as "very large online platforms" (VLOPs) under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). VLOPs face fines of up to 6% of their annual turnover if they fail to comply with stricter content moderation requirements, including taking measures to prevent election manipulation and disinformation.
The European Commission suspects that Meta's current methods for moderating disinformation and political advertisements are not in compliance with DSA obligations. The European authority is concerned about the potential impact of these practices on the upcoming election cycle, given the European Parliament elections scheduled for June.
"This Commission has created tools to protect European citizens from targeted disinformation and manipulation by third countries," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "If we suspect a violation of the regulation, we take action. This is always true, but especially in times of democratic elections."
Recently, the European Commission initiated the second round of formal proceedings against TikTok, under the Digital Services Act, regarding the launch of TikTok Lite.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
