European Commission urges Meta to explain removal of tool to spot disinformation
The European Commission has demanded explanations from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to verify compliance with EU rules following the discontinuation of the CrowdTangle tool, used for spotting and analysing disinformation on Facebook and Instagram.
CrowdTangle allows people to see what stories are spreading most quickly on the platforms. It has been unavailable since 14 August, to the dismay of many researchers and journalists who used it to monitor in real-time the spread of conspiracy theories, incitement to violence and manipulation campaigns directed from abroad.
The Commission is asking Meta to provide more information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act, to give researchers access to data from Facebook and Instagram.
'Threat to election integrity'
Meta has to provide the information by 6 September. Based on the assessment of the response, the Commission will determine the next steps.
This request for information is part of an investigation opened at the end of April, five weeks before the European elections, against Facebook and Instagram, who were suspected of not respecting their obligations in the fight against disinformation. The EU was particularly concerned about the plan to delete CrowdTangle without an adequate replacement solution.
The decision to remove the tool was strongly criticised in Europe and the US. In an open letter to Meta, the Mozilla Foundation, a global not-for-profit organisation, called for the service to be retained until at least January 2025, pointing in particular to the many electoral dates in 2024, including the US presidential election.
The letter said that “abandoning CrowdTangle (...) undermines the fundamental principle of transparency” and poses a “direct threat” to the integrity of elections.
© PHOTO JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP
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