The European Union (EU) has launched an investigation against Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, for failing to comply with EU rules in areas such as misleading advertising and combating misinformation on its platforms.
The European Commission has announced that an official investigation has been launched to determine whether Meta has violated the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), i.e. the Law on Digital Services.
“The suspected violation involves Meta’s policies and practices regarding misleading advertising and political content on its platforms,” it said.
It was emphasized that Meta did not establish an effective election observation system before the upcoming elections for the European Parliament, as well as that the company’s mechanisms for flagging and reporting illegal content in services do not comply with EU rules and that Meta did not adequately provide researchers with access to public data.
The statement states that the Commission will continue to collect additional information and evidence, and that after this stage the Meta should provide information on the measures it has taken in these areas.
According to the adopted EU law, the main digital platforms are subject to strict rules. The EU can impose fines of up to six percent of their global turnover on digital platforms that break the rules.
The elections for the European Parliament will be held from June 6 to 9 this year. The EU expects digital platforms to take steps to combat fake news and disinformation before the elections, AA writes.
