The European Committee sets out to investigate the spread of disinformation on some of Meta’s biggest social media platforms. The Committee suspects that Meta is not compliant with the Digital Services Act.
According to a statement by the European Committee, Meta’s commitment to prevent disinformation campaigns is not sufficient under EU law.
The suspicion exists that social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook purposefully influence political information and do not provide enough transparency in political times like elections.
Formal Proceedings Under DSA
The Digital Services Act (DSA) is designed to regulate online platforms and large digital networks. The European Committee has decided to investigate Meta formally for suspected infringement under the DSA.
In particular, they are looking at the following:
- Misleading advertisements and disinformation: The Committee suspects Meta of purposefully allowing disinformation campaigns through advertisements.
- Visibility of political content: Platforms like Instagram and Facebook frequently suppress certain political content, which limits users’ access to the free flow of information.
- Lack of independent monitoring: The EU has expressed concern about Meta’s lack of transparent monitoring tools, in particular when it comes to political elections. They want Meta to take more responsibility for the role they play in shaping public discourse.
- Detecting and reporting illegal content: Finally, the Committee will look at Meta’s mechanisms for flagging illegal content. It’s suspected that the detection and complaint-handling systems are not compliant with DSA obligations.
The BBC reports that the investigation follows a report from non-profit group AI Forensics that shows the prevalence of Russian propaganda campaigns on Meta’s platforms.
President of the European Committee, Ursula van der Leyen, has stated that, “big digital platforms must live up to their obligations” to put enough resources into protecting citizens from targeted disinformation and manipulation.
