In preparation for crucial EU votes, Western authorities have launched an investigation into Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, putting more pressure on the software giant to strengthen its controls against misinformation and foreign interference.
The European Commission, according to The New York Times, has Zuckerberg’s Meta in its bullseye over fears that the agency’s Facebook and Instagram platforms lack adequate protections against the spread of false ads, artificial intelligence, and other dishonest information intended to sway elections and increase social divisions.
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In announcing the proper inquiry on Tuesday, EU authorities made it abundantly clear that they intend to convince Meta to use more aggressive tactics to combat liars trying to thwart the legitimacy of the forthcoming European Parliament elections scheduled for June 6 through June 9.
The research highlights the EU’s strong position on reining in great tech’s perceived failures in glad moderation, which contrasts starkly with the US, where free speech protections entail government oversight of virtual discourse. The recently passed Digital Services Act gives German authorities enormous authority to monitor and punish big websites like Meta.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, struck a decisive tone, stating,” Great digital platforms may live up to their obligations to put sufficient resources into this, and today’s choice shows that we are serious about conformity”.
Concerns over inaccuracies in Meta’s content moderation systems that can identify and remove harmful content from malicious actors are at the heart of the investigation. Regulators cited a recent report from the European civil society organization AI Forensics, which revealed a Russian disinformation network that sold phony ads on Meta’s platforms.
Additionally, officials allege that Meta appears to be obscuring some political content, which could have a negative impact on the electoral process, underscoring calls for greater transparency in how it is distributed.
Meta defended its policies and made clear-cut efforts to stop disinformation, but it also stated that it was willing to work with the European Commission, adding that” We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms. We look forward to working with the European Commission and providing them with more information about this project.
The investigation is the most recent instalment from EU regulators to invoke the Digital Services Act, while other similar inquiries are being conducted for Twitter ( now known as X ) and TikTok. The Commission has the authority to impose fines on a company’s global revenue of up to 6 % and conduct office raids to gather evidence, and violators have severe potential legal penalties.
Read more at , the New York Times , here.
For Breitbart News, Lucas Nolan reports on issues involving free speech and online censorship.
