EU Investigates Meta Over Electoral Interference Concerns

Authorities from the European Union are looking into Meta the owner of Facebook and Instagram, because they believe that the company hasn’t done enough to safeguard the next elections in the EU or to counteract misinformation on its platforms, which might result in heavy fines or other sanctions.

The European Commission announced on Monday that Meta’s handling of advertisements by foreign tampering groups and scammers is the subject of a new investigation. Additionally, the closure of an analysis tool that scholars and media frequently utilize to keep an eye on Meta’s platforms is being investigated. The investigation is the most recent instance of European regulators using their power against US tech companies after implementing several new rules to limit their influence.

The investigation, according to officials, reveals a potential violation of the Digital Services Act, an important European legislation overseeing online platforms. Significant fines of up to 6% of Meta’s worldwide turnover could result from the infractions if they are verified.

Regulators claimed that as part of the investigation, they are also investigating if Meta’s choices to place political information lower in users’ feeds may have violated the DSA’s transparency guidelines. They also said that it doesn’t seem like Meta’s reporting approaches to unlawful content align with the DSA’s guidelines.

The investigation was initiated by the materials that Meta had to provide to the European Commission last autumn detailing its risk management procedures for any potential product-related hazards. Nonetheless, Monday’s probe indicates the EU’s doubts about Meta’s ability to handle those risks effectively.

The decision by Meta to discontinue CrowdTangle, a once-popular service that civil society groups used to monitor trending conversations on Facebook and Instagram, is a major focus of the study.

The European Commission stated that in the absence of the service, users and researchers may find it difficult to identify foreign interference in elections and will have less visibility into what is occurring on Meta services. Earlier this year, Meta stated that CrowdTangle will be discontinued on August 14.

In a press release, the European Commission explained that discontinuing support for CrowdTangle in the absence of an “adequate replacement” could “cause damage to civic discourse and electoral processes concerning the mis- and disinformation tracking capabilities, identification of voter interference and suppression, and the overall real-time transparency provided to fact-checkers, journalists, and other relevant electoral stakeholders.”

A representative of Meta said in a statement that Meta was willing to cooperate with the investigation. “We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms,” the spokesperson said. “We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the European Commission and providing them with further details of this work.”