The European Union (EU) has claimed that Facebook and Instagram aren’t doing enough to curb disinformation, especially about elections. The EU has opened yet another investigation into the operations of these social media platforms claiming it suspects they could be breaching regional content rules.
The EU is blaming Facebook and Instagram for poorly tackling misinformation
The EU is heading into a major election this year. Elections for the European Parliament take place from June 6 to June 9, 2024.
As with every nation, even the EU is concerned about disinformation campaigns, intended specifically to disrupt fair elections. Hence, the European Commission has claimed Facebook and Instagram aren’t doing their part in curbing misinformation from spreading on their platforms.
Speaking about the growing menace of disinformation on social platforms, EU digital chief Margrethe Vestager said,
“We suspect that Meta’s moderation is insufficient, that it lacks the transparency of advertisements and content moderation procedures. So today, we have opened proceedings against Meta to assess their compliance with the Digital Services Act”
We have opened formal proceedings against Meta to assess whether Facebook and Instagram may have breached the Digital Services Act in areas linked to:
▪️ Disinformation
▪️ Visibility of political content
▪️ Non-availability of election-monitoring tools
▪️ Mechanisms to flag… pic.twitter.com/2Fu0LGzINy— European Commission (@EU_Commission) April 30, 2024
The European Commission has initiated an investigation into Facebook and Instagram. Essentially, the EU is concerned that Meta isn’t doing enough to tackle deceptive advertising and disinformation.
The EU is basing its investigations on the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA gives the EU far-reaching powers and jurisprudence over the Big Tech. It can mandate online tech giants take a stricter approach to addressing illegal content.
Is the EU singling out Meta and its properties?
Several social media platforms are operating around the world, including in the EU. Platforms such as TikTok, Mastodon, X (formerly Twitter), and even instant messaging apps too, are effective tools for spreading propaganda and running disinformation campaigns.
It may feel as if the European Commission is going after Meta and its properties such as Facebook and Instagram. However, that’s not true.
The EU claims Meta does not wholeheartedly comply with DSA obligations. The Commission has reportedly accused Meta of falling short of addressing the dissemination of deceptive advertisements, disinformation campaigns, and coordinated inauthentic behavior in the EU.
#RaceToPower | EU probe Meta over election-related content
Instagram and Facebook under scanner for Russian disinformation
EU wary of Russia’s meddling before parliament election in June@AnanyaDutta97 brings you this report
Watch more: https://t.co/dm7SyC01cG pic.twitter.com/T7qdkrhm9A
— WION (@WIONews) April 30, 2024
As expected, Meta has strongly defended its risk-mitigating process. Speaking about the investigation, a Meta spokesperson said,
“We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the European Commission and providing them with further details of this work.”
The European Commission has lamented about the “absence of an effective third-party real-time civic discourse and election-monitoring tool.” These should have been not only present and ready but also operational before the upcoming.
If that’s not enough, Meta recently phased out its disinformation-tracking CrowdTangle feature. The company hasn’t yet announced an appropriate replacement. The EU has now given Meta a mere five days to inform the European Commission about remedial actions the company has taken to address its concerns.
