the European Union opens an investigation against Facebook and Instagram

The European Commission suspects the two social networks of the Meta group of not respecting the rules on combating disinformation in view of the European elections.

The account is not there. The European Commission announced on Tuesday April 30 that it had opened an investigation against Facebook and Instagram, suspected of not respecting their obligations in the fight against disinformation five weeks before the European elections. Leaders have in fact recently expressed concern about possible manipulation of public opinion by Russia.

“This Commission has put in place tools to protect European citizens from disinformation and manipulation by third countriesunderlined President Ursula von der Leyen. If we suspect a violation of the rules, we take action. This is always true, but especially during elections.”

On X, Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, lists the main grievances. The first concerns moderation “insufficient” ads by Meta. The Commission criticizes the distribution of a large number of advertisements “which pose a risk to the electoral processes”, evoking “advertising campaigns linked to manipulation of information from abroad”.

The Brussels executive also criticizes the fact that Meta reduces the visibility of political content in the recommendation systems of Instagram and Facebook, a practice contrary to the transparency obligations of the DSA. The Commission also suspects that the mechanism put in place by Meta to allow users to report illegal content does not comply with the regulations. It would not be easy enough to access and use. Finally, Brussels criticizes Meta for its plan to remove a tool considered essential for identifying and analyzing disinformation on Facebook and Instagram, without an adequate replacement solution.

Meta has five days to make corrections

Meta has not directly commented on the proceedings. “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 on this work”reacted a spokesperson.

Meta announced in early April that its “CrowdTangle” tool would no longer be available after August 14, to the great dismay of many researchers and journalists who use it to monitor in real time the spread of conspiracy theories, incitements to violence or manipulation campaigns led from abroad.

“In the wake of the European elections which will take place from June 6 to 9, 2024 and a series of other elections which will take place in the Member States”this deletion could reduce “the capabilities of tracking false information”, worries the Commission. She asks Meta to inform her, within five days, about “corrective measures” taken to ensure public control of the content broadcast, under penalty of possible sanctions.

This is the fifth formal investigation launched by Brussels under the new Digital Services Regulation (DSA) which came into force last year to combat illegal content online.