Suspected infringements

EU investigates Facebook and Instagram

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/ALEX WONG)

The European Commission has opened proceedings against the Facebook and Instagram group Meta on suspicion of breaches of EU law. Among other things, the Commission announced in Brussels on Tuesday that it was investigating whether the US company had not complied with European rules when dealing with political advertising.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that her authority had created means to protect European citizens from targeted disinformation and manipulation by third countries. "If we suspect a breach of the rules, we act. This applies at all times, but especially in times of democratic elections," said the former German defense minister.

"We suspect that Meta's content moderation is inadequate," said EU Digital Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Tuesday. "There is a lack of transparency." The latter also applies to the clients of online political advertising. It is therefore now being investigated whether the US company's Facebook and Instagram services are in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Meta rejects accusations
Meta rejected the accusation. "We have an established process for identifying and minimizing risks on our platforms." The US company now has five working days to inform the EU about possible steps to address the concerns. The DSA subjects very large internet companies to stricter regulation. Among other things, the law obliges them to set up a risk management system and take stronger action against hate and hate speech on the internet. Violations could result in penalties of up to six percent of annual global turnover.

The alleged infringements include Meta not sufficiently combating the spread of misleading advertising and disinformation campaigns in the EU. In addition, the Commission suspects that the opportunities for users to complain about content on the platforms, for example, do not meet the requirements of European law. Furthermore, Meta does not grant researchers sufficient access to data.

The Commission emphasizes that the initiation of the procedure merely examines a suspicion and that the authority's preliminary assessment does not yet represent a final result. The Commission will continue to gather evidence, for example through interviews. In addition, the EU Commission could theoretically accept concessions from Meta.

Investigations into the "doppelganger" network
According to insiders, the investigations by the authorities primarily revolved around the "doppelganger" network. This group from Russia is known for deceptively imitating authentic media. Meta uncovered the activities of "Doppelgänger" in 2022 and has since blocked tens of thousands of links associated with this network, according to its own statements.

The EU also criticized Meta for the lack of an effective instrument for citizen dialogue and election monitoring by third parties in real time. The fact that the CrowdTangle analysis software is to be shut down is also a cause for concern. With its help, scientists, journalists and companies were able to track which posts on online platforms were particularly successful. In the EU alone, more than 250 million people use Meta's various services every month.

In October, EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton had already warned Facebook about too much manipulated content on the platform in connection with elections. Breton wrote that he wanted to be informed immediately of the details of the measures Facebook had taken to curb falsification, also with regard to upcoming elections in the EU. The European Parliament will be re-elected in the summer.

Fear of Russian campaigns
Many in the EU assume that Russia is trying to influence the elections. Belgium recently made it public that intelligence information showed that there were attempts to have as many pro-Russian MEPs as possible elected to the European Parliament. Last week, the Belgian EU Council Presidency triggered the international community's crisis response mechanism (IPCR), which is intended to facilitate a closer exchange of information on ongoing measures against Russian influence.

Proceedings are already underway against the online platform TikTok and the short messaging service X (formerly Twitter). TikTok is being investigated as to whether the Chinese company is endangering the mental health of minors with its app version TikTok Lite. Following reports of illegal and misleading posts about the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel, X was sent a list of questions, which the company did not answer to the satisfaction of the EU Commission. Proceedings were initiated against X in mid-December.