Meta and TikTok disinformation probe in Israel-Hamas war

Meta and TikTok disinformation probe in Israel-Hamas war. In a request for additional information about the steps Facebook’s owner Meta and TikTok have taken to curb the spread of “illegal content and disinformation” on their platforms, the EU launched investigations into Meta and TikTok.

Earlier this week, the European Commission announced that it has sent formal requests for information to Meta and TikTok respectively as part of what is the first procedure that has been launched under a new law on digital content introduced by the EU.

In the past week, the European Union launched a similar investigation into billionaire mogul Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which is owned by Musk.

The commission said the request to Meta was related to the “dissemination and amplification of illegal content and disinformation” surrounding the Hamas-Israel conflict as it emerged from the investigation.

It said in a separate statement that it wanted to know more about the efforts TikTok is making to combat the spread of terrorist and violent content, as well as hate speech.

In addition, the executive arm of the EU said that it wanted to know more about Meta’s “mitigation measures to ensure that elections are held with integrity”.

There is a deadline of October 25 for Meta and TikTok to respond, with a deadline of November 8 for less urgent aspects of the demand for information as well.

Moreover, the commission said it also wanted to know how TikTok was complying with the rules regarding the protection of minors online and how it was doing so.

By enacting its landmark Digital Services Act (DSA) and its sister law, the Digital Markets Act, the European Union has developed a powerful arsenal to challenge the power of big tech with tough new curbs on the way internet giants conduct business over the coming years.

As a result of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year, as well as Russian attempts to persuade European public opinion in its favor, the EU has intensified its efforts to counter disinformation.

As a result of Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 and the aftermath of the attack, the issue has gained a greater urgency, with a large number of violent images flooding the platforms following the attack.

The DSA was implemented in August for “very large” platforms, including Meta and TikTok, which have more than 45 million monthly users in Europe, including Meta and TikTok.

As part of the DSA, illegal online content is banned under threat of fines as high as six percent of the global turnover of any company infringing the law.

Thierry Breton, the EU’s top tech enforcer, has sent warning letters to a number of tech CEOs in recent weeks, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew, and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, the head of YouTube.

Concerns about the future of the EU are growing

In light of Hamas’s attacks on the EU, the European Commission’s internal market commissioner, Catherine Breton, urged the company’s executives to crack down on illegal content.

Last week, Meta announced that it was dedicating special resources towards cracking down on illegal and problematic content related to the Hamas-Israel conflict in order to address it.

It was reported on Wednesday that Breton expressed his fears about the impact that disinformation may have on the European Union.

As a result of the widespread dissemination of illegal content and disinformation… there is a real risk of stigmatising certain communities, destabilizing our democratic structures, and of course, exposing our children to violent content, as well,” he noted.

It has been discovered that several posts on Facebook, TikTok, and X have been promoting a fake White House document purporting to allocate $8 billion in military assistance to Israel, AFP fact-checkers have found.

As well as this, many platforms are seeing users pass off material from other conflicts, as well as video games, as footage from Israel or Gaza on their platforms.

Due to the EU’s tougher action on digital behemoths, some companies, including Meta, are considering whether they would be able to offer a paid-for version of their services in the EU in the future.