The European Commission has formally requested Meta and TikTok to explain how the companies combat fake news surrounding the conflict between Hamas and Israel on their social media. The EU wants to check whether companies comply with moderation rules under the Digital Services Act law.
The companies have a week to answer questions from the Commission, according to reports the AP. If the companies do not comply with the EC’s requests, the Commission can launch follow-up investigations and impose penalty payments of up to six percent of a company’s global turnover. TikTok announced a few days ago that it was tightening supervision of information dissemination about the war in question. Meta previously said that it has developed processes to act appropriately in such conflicts.
Apart from the tightened control surrounding information about the war between Hamas and Israel, TikTok and Meta have until November 8 to provide clarity about to provide policies on illegal content for minors and protection of election integrity. In all cases, the European Commission can launch a formal investigation and impose fines if companies do not cooperate with initial information requests.
Previously, European Commissioner Thierry Breton did the same request to X . In that case, Breton specifically addressed Elon Musk in an open letter, after which the EC issued a official first investigation into the platform started. In the case of TikTok and Meta, letters asking for information were sent in early October, and further follow-up requests were submitted behind closed doors.
