Meta is been investigated by the European Commission

 

The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over its handling of political content and suspected Russian influence campaigns. The probe will examine whether Meta's approach to moderating disinformation and political adverts breaches EU law, particularly in the lead-up to the European Parliament elections in June.

The Commission has identified four key concerns: ineffective oversight and moderation of adverts, lack of transparency over the demotion of political content and accounts, limited access to real-time data and tools for journalists and civil society researchers to monitor political content during elections, and inadequate reporting mechanisms for users to report illegal content.

The investigation was sparked by findings from non-profit research organisation AI Forensics, which uncovered a Russian influence campaign running adverts across Meta's platforms. The campaign, known as "Doppelganger," had reached 38 million users between August 2023 and March 202vier and was found to be spreading pro-Russian propaganda. AI Forensics reported that less than 20% of the ads had been moderated by Meta as political.

Meta has stated that it has been taking action against the campaign since first exposing it in 2022 and claims to have seen less user engagement as a result. However, the Commission has expressed concerns over Meta's approach to moderating advertisements and its transparency over the demotion of political content and accounts.

The Commission has given Meta five days to respond to a request for information about tools for journalists and researchers to monitor content on Facebook and Instagram during upcoming elections. It has also raised concerns over Meta's decision to discontinue CrowdTangle, a public tool providing data and insights into Facebook and Instagram content engagement.

As a designated "very large online platform" (VLOP) under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), Meta faces fines of up to 6% of its annual turnover if it fails to comply with the bloc's content moderation requirements. The DSA aims to prevent manipulation of elections and disinformation, and the Commission has made it clear that it will take action if it suspects a violation of the rules.

This investigation follows a similar probe into disinformation on X (formerly Twitter) launched by the Commission in March. The Commission's President, Ursula von der Leyen, has emphasized the importance of protecting European citizens from targeted disinformation and manipulation by third countries, particularly during democratic elections.