Meta Faces EU Scrutiny over Content Moderation Ahead of Elections
LA News Center has unearthed a significant investigation into Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, by the European Commission. The investigation centers around Meta’s compliance with the European Union’s stringent internet content regulations.
Concerns Over Election Disinformation
The European Commission’s inquiry delves into concerns that Meta has not adequately addressed the dissemination of disinformation in the lead-up to the upcoming European Parliament elections, scheduled for June 6-9. The commission suspects that Meta may have failed to meet obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the areas of tackling deceptive advertisements, disinformation campaigns, and coordinated inauthentic behavior.
Content Demotion and Transparency Issues
The commission also raised concerns about Meta’s alleged demotion of political content in the recommendation systems of Facebook and Instagram. This practice, the commission asserted, may contravene the DSA’s transparency requirements.
A Meta spokesperson, responding via email, outlined the company’s established process for mitigating risks on its platforms and expressed a willingness to cooperate with the European Commission’s investigation.
Real-Time Monitoring and Election Tools
The EU’s investigation further identified the absence of an effective third-party, real-time civil discourse and election-monitoring tool. Meta, the bloc noted, is in the process of deprecating its CrowdTangle tool, a public insights platform that facilitates election monitoring for researchers, journalists, and civil society organizations.
Meta, however, maintains that CrowdTangle is not efficient for election monitoring due to insufficient publicly available data. The company claims to be developing new tools within its systems to provide access to more comprehensive data from its platforms.
Potential Heavy Fines
Meta’s alleged infringements of the DSA carry significant potential consequences. The DSA, implemented in February 2024, empowers EU regulators to conduct stricter oversight of tech giants’ content moderation practices and efforts to combat election manipulation.
Noncompliance with the DSA could result in hefty fines of up to 6% of Meta’s global turnover. In extreme cases, the company could face temporary suspension from operating in the EU region.
Ongoing Investigation and Possible Outcomes
The European Commission will continue to gather evidence from Meta and may take further steps, such as issuing additional requests for information or conducting interviews and inspections. The bloc retains the authority to impose interim measures or noncompliance decisions if deemed necessary.
Meta may also enter into commitments with the commission to address issues raised in the proceedings. While the formal proceedings do not have a fixed legal deadline, the outcome of the investigation will significantly impact Meta’s operations and content moderation practices in the European Union.
Data sourced from: cnbc.com
