European Commission opens proceedings against Meta over disinformation on Facebook and Instagram
The European Commission opened proceedings against Meta because the company failed to combat misleading advertising and disinformation on Facebook and Instagram ahead of the European Parliament elections.
As Reuters reports, the move by the regulator was made amid concerns about Russia, China and Iran as potential sources of disinformation, as well as about some political parties and organizations within the EU that seek to attract voters with lies.
“We suspect that Meta’s moderation is insufficient, that it lacks transparency of advertisements and content moderation procedures,” EU digital chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement,” EU digital policy chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The European Commission suspects that Meta is not fulfilling the obligations of the Digital Services Act regarding the dissemination of misleading advertising, disinformation campaigns, and coordinated inauthentic behavior in the EU.
They also emphasize the lack of effective third-party public discourse in real time and election monitoring tools on the eve of the European Parliament elections.
At the same time, the company also assures that it has a well-established process to combat disinformation:
“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,” said in a statement from representatives of Meta.
The company now has five days to notify the EU of new measures to address the Commission’s concerns.