European Union: Issued European Commission request for information to Meta under the Digital Services Act following CrowdTangle discontinuation

On 16 August 2024, the European Commission sent a formal request for information (RFI) to Meta under the Digital Services Act (DSA) following the discontinuation of Meta's CrowdTangle tool on 14 August 2024. The Commission is seeking detailed information on the measures Meta has taken to comply with its DSA obligations, specifically regarding providing researchers with access to publicly accessible data on Facebook and Instagram. The request also inquires about Meta's plans to update its election and civic discourse monitoring functionalities, with a focus on the company's content library and application programming interface (API). This RFI is part of an ongoing investigation initiated by the Commission on 30 April 2024, which centres on Meta's failure to offer an effective third-party, real-time civic discourse and election-monitoring tool, especially critical ahead of the upcoming European Parliament and national elections. Earlier in May 2024, Meta attempted to address these concerns by deploying new functionalities in CrowdTangle, including 27 public real-time visual dashboards for each EU Member State. However, these functionalities have now been discontinued. Meta is required to respond to the Commission's RFI by 6 September 2024. The Commission will then assess Meta's replies and determine the next steps, which may include interim measures or non-compliance decisions.