The European Commission opened an investigation this Tuesday against the American company Meta, considering that it is not doing enough to combat disinformation from foreign agents, mainly Russia, ahead of the European elections in June on the social networks Facebook and Instagram.
“The Commission has created means to protect European citizens from disinformation and personalized manipulation by third countries. If we suspect a violation of the rules, we act. This is true at all times, but especially during election times democratic conditions,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
“Large digital platforms must meet their obligations to dedicate sufficient resources to this and today’s decision shows that we are serious about compliance. Protecting our democracies is a common fight with our Member States,” he continued.
Specifically, Brussels believes that the company is failing to comply with community regulations that require it to avoid the dissemination of misleading advertising, as well as possible disinformation campaigns, and is concerned because this “may present risks” in the face of electoral processes and fundamental rights, as well as for consumer protection,” the Commission explained in a statement.
He is also concerned about Meta’s plans to do away with CrowdTangle – a public information tool that allows researchers, journalists and civil society as a whole to carry out electoral monitoring – without having replaced it with another suitable one.
Furthermore, he believes that the tools that Facebook and Instagram give users to notify them of the presence of illegal content fail to comply with the requirements established by the digital services law, the standard with which the European Union forces large platforms to combat illegal content on the internet.
“It is not in anyone’s interest for Meta to make money with advertising exploited by Russian actors who manipulate. There is not only a legal obligation of the digital services law and a political commitment, but it is wrong for them to make money with this,” said a community source. .
The source assured that in the conversations that the Commission has held with Meta since September last year, the company has shown a “constructive commitment” to address the concerns of the Community Executive.
The opening of this investigation allows the Commission to adopt a whole series of measures, among which it could apply a fine of up to 6% of Meta’s global turnover.
