The European Commission has launched a formal procedure to assess whether Meta, the owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, may have breached the Digital Services Regulation (DSR).
Suspected violations include Meta's Services policies and procedures regarding the presence of false advertising and political content on its Services. The European Commission is also concerned about the lack of an effective tool for monitoring election speech in real-time, given that CrowdTangle, a tool used for this purpose, was discontinued ahead of the European Parliament elections.
“We are initiating formal infringement proceedings against Meta as we suspect they are not complying with their obligations. RSD “misleading advertising and political content and for failing to provide researchers, journalists and election stakeholders with real-time monitoring tools and effective mechanisms to flag illegal content”, summarized European Commissioner for the Internal Market responsible for the industry, Theory. Breton, A Report About the result. “The rapid and widespread dissemination of ideas and information on social media such as Instagram and Facebook offers great opportunities,” Breton acknowledged. “However, online platforms are vulnerable to the spread of misinformation and foreign interference, especially in the lead-up period. Until the election.”
“The Commission has developed mechanisms to protect European citizens from targeted misinformation and manipulation by third countries. If we suspect a breach of the rules, we will take action. This is valid at all times, but especially during democratic elections.“, he emphasized Chairman of the Commission, Ursula Vaughan to give Leyen.
Brussels notes that the “suspected violations include Meta's policies and procedures regarding false advertising and political content on its services” and “coordinated false campaigns and dishonest behavior within the EU” during the election campaign.
The agency also suspects that Meta violated the new rules because it “did not have an effective tool for monitoring civic discourse and elections in real time by third parties before the elections for the European Parliament.”
A month before European elections scheduled for June 6 and 9, European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen notes in a note that Brussels “protects European citizens from misinformation and manipulation by third countries”.
“If we suspect a violation of the rules, we act. This is true at any time, but especially during democratic election periods”, insists Ursula van der Leyen, the party's main candidate for the European Commission, despite the fact that the European People's Party is not on the European electoral list. Second Order in Social Administration.
“Major digital platforms must fulfill their obligations and invest sufficient resources in this area and today's decision shows that we take compliance with the rules seriously,” said the official.
Since the end of last August and after an adaptation period, the EU has become the first jurisdiction in the world to have rules for digital platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, which are now obliged to remove illegal content.
Companies that do not comply with the new law could face fines proportional to their size, with large companies subject to sanctions of up to 6% of their global revenue.