The European Union (EU) will officially investigate Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, over its efforts to counter misinformation ahead of the polls scheduled for June 2024, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The probe, which will be launched this week by Brussels, will focus on Meta’s efforts to counter misinformation from Russia and other countries. The EU has raised concerns that Meta is not taking adequate measures to combat content that could potentially undermine the election process. The investigation will be conducted under the landmark Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into effect in August 2023.
The investigation will assess Meta’s ability to counter the dissemination of disinformation and other forms of harmful material from external actors attempting to interfere in the EU elections. In addition, the probe will ascertain whether Meta’s containment mechanism is in compliance with the DSA, which lays out stricter regulations for Big Tech companies.
Meta, on the other hand, is confident about countering electoral misinformation during the forthcoming elections. “We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms,” Meta says. “We look forward to continuing our co-operation with the European Commission and providing them with further details of this work.”
Citing sources, the FT report says Meta’s moderation mechanism has come under strict regulatory scrutiny in the EU, with the regulators expressing fears particularly over the company’s management of political advertising, which it says could have wide-ranging impacts on the EU elections. The European Commission is expected to issue a statement in this regard soon, according to the report.
The apprehensions also revolve around CrowdTangle, a tool by Meta that facilitated journalists, researchers, and regular users to track disinformation in real time. Meta has already announced shutting down CrowdTangle, whose team was disbanded in 2021, with user registrations terminated in 2023. The EU will assess whether the company has adequate mitigation measures in place now that CrowdTangle is set to shut down completely in August this year.
No details have yet been shared regarding the duration of the investigation, however.
