The European Union is preparing to initiate a fresh inquiry into Meta for its handling of election-related content, according to a recent story in The Guardian. Details of the inquiry may be revealed “later this week,” but European officials are allegedly concerned about “deceptive advertising and political content.”
According to the Financial Times, the EU has also raised concerns about Russia’s “efforts to undermine upcoming European elections” and other foreign interference campaigns. The EU is set to hold parliamentary elections in June. If the company is found to have run afoul of the Europe’s Digital Services Act, it could be hit with large fines.
EU authorities express particular alarm on Meta’s intention to terminate CrowdTangle in August. Researchers and fact-checkers have been using the technology extensively for years to examine the distribution of material on Facebook and Instagram. In an open letter to the firm last month, dozens of researchers and fact-checking organizations stated that closing the tool in advance of several international elections would pose a “direct threat” to efforts being made to ensure election integrity worldwide.
“We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms,” a Meta spokesperson told Engadget in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the European Commission and providing them with further details of this work.”
Elsewhere, the EU is also investigating Meta over its ad-free subscription plan available to European users. That investigation, which could last up to a year, will look into whether the social media company has violated Europe’s Digital Markets Act, by not offering users a “real alternative” to opt out of data collection.
