Authorities are worried about the company’s intention to close CrowdTangle and “deceptive advertising.”
According to a fresh story that was published in The Guardian, the European Union is getting set to initiate a new inquiry into Meta about the way in which it approaches content that is relevant to elections. It is possible that the specifics of the probe may be disclosed “later this week,” but it has been claimed that European officials are concerned about “deceptive advertising and political content.”
The European Union (EU) has reportedly expressed alarm on Russia’s “efforts to undermine upcoming European elections” as well as other foreign involvement campaigns, as reported by the Financial Times. In June, the European Union is going to hold elections for its parliament. In the event that it is discovered that the corporation has violated the Digital Services Act of Europe, the company may be subject to significant financial penalties.
Officials from the European Union are “particularly concerned” about Meta’s intention to put an end to CrowdTangle in the month of August. For years, researchers and fact checkers have been making extensive use of the technology in order to investigate the manner in which content is disseminated over Facebook and Instagram. In an open letter that was sent to the corporation a month ago, dozens of researchers and fact-checking groups signed it. They stated that if the tool were to be shut down in advance of dozens of worldwide elections, it would be a “direct threat” to election integrity efforts all around the world.
“We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms,” a spokeswoman for Meta said in a statement to Engadget before the publication’s publication. With great anticipation, we are looking forward to continuing our collaboration with the European Commission and supplying them with additional information regarding this effort.
Another investigation is being conducted by the European Union (EU) into Meta’s ad-free membership plan, which is accessible to users in Europe. The purpose of this inquiry, which may extend for as long as a year, is to determine whether or not the social media business has breached Europe’s Digital Markets Act by failing to provide users with a “real alternative” to opt out of having their data collected.