With the European elections approaching, the European Commission announced on Tuesday two new infringement procedures against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over the companys practices related to misleading advertising, political content on its services, and the lack of an effective real time monitoring tool for third parties ahead of the European Parliament elections scheduled for June 6 to 9.
The fast and broad dissemination of opinions and information on social networks like Instagram and Facebook brings great opportunities. Yet online platforms are also vulnerable to the spread of misinformation and foreign interference, especially in the lead up to elections. A formal infringement procedure is being launched against Meta because there are concerns the company may not meet the Digital Services Act obligations on misleading advertising and political content, and that it has not provided researchers, journalists, and election stakeholders with real time monitoring tools and effective mechanisms for reporting illegal content, according to a statement by Thierry Breton, the Commissioner for the Internal Market.
DSA Obligations
The Brussels authorities are focusing on four major areas. In relation to misleading advertising and disinformation, the tech giant led by Mark Zuckerberg is suspected of failing to comply with the new law, which came into force earlier this year, regarding the spread of deceptive ads, disinformation campaigns, and coordinated inauthentic behavior within the EU. The proliferation of such content can threaten civic discourse, electoral processes, fundamental rights, and consumer protection.
The second area of concern is the visibility of political content and the worry that it is degraded within the recommendation systems of Instagram and Facebook, including their feeds. The investigation will examine how this policy aligns with transparency obligations and user redress under the DSA, as well as the requirements to assess and mitigate risks to civic discourse and electoral processes.
Disappearance of the CrowdTangle Tool
The third major focus at the Commission is the absence of an effective real time monitoring tool for electoral and civic discourse by third parties, particularly before the European Parliament elections and other elections held in several member states. Meta is reportedly moving away from CrowdTangle, a public information tool that enables real time electoral monitoring by researchers, journalists, and civil society, including live dashboards, without a suitable replacement in place.
The Commission argues that during election periods Meta, which serves over 250 million monthly active users, should broaden access to such instruments. By disrupting CrowdTangle the company has not diligently evaluated or adequately mitigated risks related to the effects of Facebook and Instagram on civic discourse and electoral processes and other systemic risks.
In addition, the Commission is concerned that Meta’s takedown mechanism for reporting illegal content on its services, which allows users to flag content, does not meet the obligations of the new law. The EU agency also believes the company has not built an effective internal system to handle complaints about moderation decisions.
A Possible Sanction Threat
Without a reliable way to trust what is seen online there is a danger that people end up not believing anything. Misleading advertising is a risk to online debate and ultimately to consumers and citizens rights, according to Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice president highlighted by Brussels.
Brussels now expects cooperation from the American giant and urgent measures to ensure effective public scrutiny. Meta is asked to report within five working days the corrective steps it has taken, while reserving the right to take further decisions if those actions are deemed insufficient. The investigation is a serious step that could lead to fines of up to six percent of global turnover. Meta has publicly stated it remains committed to election integrity and has taken some measures. The authorities are clear that vulnerabilities persist that do not align with DSA standards, according to community sources.