European Union: Opened European Commission formal proceedings against Meta over alleged non-compliance with DSA requirements to address illegal content and disinformation

Description

Opened European Commission formal proceedings against Meta over alleged non-compliance with DSA requirements to address illegal content and disinformation

On 30 April 2024, the European Commission initiated formal proceedings to investigate whether Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has failed to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The investigation focuses on several alleged infringements, including Meta's handling of deceptive advertising and political content, as well as the absence of an effective third-party tool for real-time civic discourse and election monitoring. The investigation follows a preliminary analysis of Meta's risk assessment report submitted in September 2023, alongside Meta's responses to requests for formal Information regarding various concerns such as illegal content, disinformation, data access, and the use of generative AI. The Commission's allegations extend to Meta's "notice-and-action" mechanism for flagging illegal content and the adequacy of its internal complaint-handling system. The investigation will also focus on Meta's policies that demote political content on Instagram and Facebook, assessing their compliance with DSA obligations related to transparency, user redress, and the mitigation of risks to civic discourse and electoral processes..

Original source

Scope

Policy Area
Content moderation
Policy Instrument
Content moderation regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
platform intermediary: user-generated content
Implementation Level
supranational
Government Branch
executive
Government Body
other regulatory body

Complete timeline of this policy change

Hide details
2023-10-19
under deliberation

On 19 October 2023, the European Commission sent a request for information to Meta regarding risk a…

2024-04-30
under deliberation

On 30 April 2024, the European Commission initiated formal proceedings to investigate whether Meta,…

2024-08-16
under deliberation

On 16 August 2024, the European Commission sent a formal request for information (RFI) to Meta unde…