LONDON: The European Union said Tuesday that it’s investigating Facebook and Instagram for suspected violations of the bloc’s digital rulebook, including not doing enough to protect users from foreign disinformation ahead of EU-wide elections.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it’s opening formal proceedings into whether parent company Meta Platforms breached the Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations designed to protect internet users and clean up social media platforms under threat of hefty fines worth up to 6% of annual revenue.
European authorities are scrambling to safeguard elections amid official warnings that Russia is seeking to meddle with the vote in June, when citizens of the bloc’s 27 nations pick lawmakers for the European Parliament.
Officials said they suspected Meta’s content moderation system for advertisements was inadequate, allowing ads made with generative AI including deepfakes to exploited by malicious foreign actors seeking to meddle in elections even as the company makes money from them.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it’s opening formal proceedings into whether parent company Meta Platforms breached the Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations designed to protect internet users and clean up social media platforms under threat of hefty fines worth up to 6% of annual revenue.
European authorities are scrambling to safeguard elections amid official warnings that Russia is seeking to meddle with the vote in June, when citizens of the bloc’s 27 nations pick lawmakers for the European Parliament.
Officials said they suspected Meta’s content moderation system for advertisements was inadequate, allowing ads made with generative AI including deepfakes to exploited by malicious foreign actors seeking to meddle in elections even as the company makes money from them.