An investigation has begun into the Facebook and Instagram apps of Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta over concerns that the platforms are failing to counter disinformation ahead of EU elections in June, AFP reported.
The investigation is part of the EU’s new Digital Services Act, a landmark law that tackles illegal content online and forces the world’s biggest tech companies to do more to protect consumers online.
The European Commission said it suspected that Meta’s ad moderation was “inadequate” and that increasing paid spots under these conditions could harm “electoral processes and fundamental rights, including consumer protection rights”.
EU leaders are particularly concerned about Russia’s attempts to manipulate public opinion and undermine European democracy.
The purpose of the inspection is “to make sure that effective actions have been taken, in particular to prevent the use of the vulnerability of Instagram and Facebook by foreign interference”, said the Commissioner for the internal market of the EU, Thierry Breton, reported BGNES.
“We suspect that the moderation of “Meta” is insufficient, that there is a lack of transparency in the procedures for moderating ads and content,” the commission’s executive vice president Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
Facebook and Instagram are among 23 “very large” online platforms that must comply with the GDPR or risk fines of up to six percent of the platform’s global turnover, or even a ban in the most severe cases.
Other platforms include Amazon, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
Meta did not comment on the focus of the investigation, instead saying more generally that the US company has a “well-established process to identify and mitigate risks across our platforms”.
A Meta spokesperson added: “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the European Commission and providing them with further details on this work.”
Brussels is particularly concerned that Meta does not have an “effective” election monitoring tool ahead of the June 6-9 EU-wide vote.
He pointed to Meta’s decision to shut down CrowdTangle, a digital tool considered vital to tracking disinformation.
Meta said it will replace CrowdTangle with a new content library, a technology still under development.
The company has five business days to explain what actions it has taken to mitigate the risks of CrowdTangle being decommissioned.
The EU’s concern is due to the reach of Meta’s platforms in the 450 million block. Both platforms have over 260 million monthly active users respectively.
The focus of the EU investigation is broad and includes Meta’s actions to reduce political content in Facebook and Instagram’s recommendation systems.
Brussels fears this may be in breach of the DSA’s transparency rules.
The EU also suspects that Meta’s mechanism for flagging illegal content is not sufficiently easy to access or user-friendly, the Commission said.
No deadline has been set for the inspection to be completed.
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