Bloomberg’s sources also said the probe was focused on the Russian disinformation operation, describing it as a series of “attempts to replicate the appearance of traditional news sources while churning out content that is favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policies.”

The investigation comes a day after France said 27 of the EU’s 29 member states had been targeted by pro-Russian online propaganda ahead of European parliamentary elections in June. On Monday, France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot urged social platforms to block websites “participating in a foreign interference operation.”

A Meta spokesperson told Engadget that the company had been at the forefront of exposing Russia’s Doppelganger campaign, first spotlighting it in 2022. The company said it has since investigated, disrupted and blocked tens of thousands of the network’s assets. The Facebook and Instagram owner says it remains on high alerts to monitor the network while claiming Doppelganger has struggled to successfully build organic audiences for the pro-Putin fake news.

The European Commission’s President said Meta’s platforms, Facebook and Instagram, may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA), the landmark legislation passed in 2022 that empowers the EU to regulate social platforms. The law allows the EC to, if necessary, impose heavy fines on violating companies — up to six percent of a company’s global annual turnover, potentially changing how social companies operate.

In a statement to Engadget, Meta said, “We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the European Commission and providing them with further details of this work.”

The EC probe will cover “Meta’s policies and practices relating to deceptive advertising and political content on its services.” It also addresses “the non-availability of an effective third-party real-time civic discourse and election-monitoring tool ahead of the elections to the European Parliament.”

The latter refers to Meta’s deprecation of its CrowdTangle tool, which researchers and fact-checkers used for years to study how content spreads across Facebook and Instagram. Dozens of groups signed an open letter last month, saying Meta’s planned shutdown during the crucial 2024 global elections poses a “direct threat” to global election integrity.

Meta told Engadget that CrowdTangle only provides a fraction of the publicly available data and would be lacking as a full-fledged election monitoring tool. The company says it’s building new tools on its platform to provide more comprehensive data to researchers and other outside parties. It says it’s currently onboarding key third-party fact-checking partners to help identify misinformation.

However, with Europe’s elections in June and the critical US elections in November, Meta had better get moving on its new API if it wants the tools to work when it matters most.

The EC gave Meta five working days to respond to its concerns before it would consider further escalating the matter. “This Commission has created means to protect European citizens from targeted disinformation and manipulation by third countries,” EC President von der Leyen wrote. “If we suspect a violation of the rules, we act.”

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TikTok Lite, launched earlier this month in France and Spain, lets users earn rewards by watching and liking videos. They can then exchange their points for real-world perks like Amazon vouchers or in-app ones like TikTok’s virtual currency, which is used to tip creators. The EU Commission said the “task and reward” feature can stimulate “addictive behavior” in children.

“Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” EU commissioner Thierry Breton posted on X (Twitter) on Wednesday. “I take note of TikTok’s decision to suspend the #TikTokLite ‘Reward Program’ in the EU.”

However, he added a parting shot to remind ByteDance it isn’t out of the woods: “The cases against TikTok on the risk of addictiveness of the platform continue.”

Breton fired a warning shot at ByteDance earlier this week, saying the EU had opened a formal investigation into TikTok for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). The landmark legislation, adopted in 2022, gives European regulators the teeth to force significant changes in social media platforms to protect consumers.

Companies that break the rules can risk fines of up to six percent of their global revenues — enough to force compliance from even the richest companies. Wednesday’s suspension marks the first concrete example of the EU using the DSA’s enforcement powers to force significant changes on a social platform.

The EU’s formal investigation into TikTok Lite was its second targeting the platform this year. An earlier case, launched in February, opened proceedings against TikTok and Meta for their handling of the privacy and safety of minors. The Guardian notes that both cases remain active.

“TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators,” the platform’s Policy Europe X account posted on Wednesday. “We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised.”

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Meta said it has mobilized over 1,000 people to "develop solutions to the DSA's requirements." Some of the changes will increase transparency about how its systems work and provide users more options to tailor their experiences on Facebook and Instagram. At the same time, it's establishing an "independent compliance function" to ensure it meets ongoing regulatory obligations.

Starting later this month, Meta will offer Reels, Stories, Search and other parts of Facebook and Instagram that are unranked by Meta using its AI recommendation process. "For example, on Facebook and Instagram, users will have the option to view Stories and Reels only from people they follow, ranked in chronological order, newest to oldest," wrote Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg.

It's not clear how Meta will implement the change. The main Feed on Instagram already allows users to sort by Following instead of using the algorithm-based approach. However, the "Following" feature is effectively a secondary page on Instagram, and the app always defaults to the algorithmic "For You" option when first opened. Facebook is even more of a hassle, forcing you to select a menu, go into Feeds and tap "Friends" rather than "All."

Users will also be able to view Search results based only on the words they enter, rather than results personalized specifically to them based on their previous activity and personal interests. The company is also providing more information about how its AI systems rank content via 22 system cards for Facebook and Instagram, adding to its "Why Am I Seeing This" feature.

"These cards provide information about how our AI systems rank content for Feed, Reels, Stories, and other surfaces; some of the predictions each system makes to determine what content might be most relevant to people; and the options available to help customize an experience on Facebook and Instagram," Meta said.

Meta is also expanding its Ad library to display and archive all ads (for one year) that target EU users, including date run, parameters used for targeting (age, gender, location), who received the ad and more. It's also rolling out two new tools for researchers that include publicly available content from Pages, Posts, Groups and Events.

The company said that it "welcomes the principles of transparency, accountability and user empowerment at the heart of the DSA," adding it has "long advocated for a harmonized regulatory regime." However, Meta previously expressed extreme displeasure when Apple introduced changes that allowed users to easily opt out of targeted advertising starting with iOS 14. To that end, observers will no doubt be keenly interested in how the changes are implemented and whether they follow the letter, if not the spirit, of the new law.

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“In light of a number of serious recent developments, let me recall the precise obligations regarding content moderation under the EU Digital Services Act,” Breton wrote in the letter. “Firstly, following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we are seeing a surge of illegal content and disinformation being disseminated in the EU via certain platforms,” Breton wrote.

“I would ask you to be very vigilant to ensure strict compliance with the DSA rules on terms of service, on the requirement of timely, diligent and objective action following notices of illegal content in the EU, and on the need for proportionate and effective mitigation measures,” the commissioner wrote. “I urgently invite you to ensure that your systems are effective.”

The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) requires social companies like Meta to moderate and remove illegal and harmful content. The law, passed in 2022, mandates that platforms operating in the EU be more proactive in policing malicious material. It can levy fines of up to six percent of infringing companies’ total revenue, enough to effectively serve as a “stick” against the deep-pocketed social behemoths.

Breton acknowledged the company’s improvements in certain areas. “We have noted steps taken by Meta to increase mitigation measures in the run-up to the recent elections in Slovakia — such as increased cooperation with independent authorities, improvements in response times, and increased fact-checking,” the letter reads.

However, it raises concerns about deepfakes and other digitally altered content with potential real-world ramifications. “We have also been made aware of reports of a significant number of deep fakes and manipulated content which circulated on your platforms and a few still appear online,” Breton wrote. “I remind you that the DSA requires that the risk of amplification of fake and manipulated images and facts generated with the intention to influence elections is taken extremely seriously in the context of mitigation measures.”

Breton asked Zuckerberg to communicate with the commissioner’s team “without delay” on the details of measures the company has taken to mitigate deepfakes and counter election-related misinformation.

“My team will follow up shortly with a specific request on a number of other issues of DSA compliance that deserve immediate attention,” the letter closed. “The DSA is here to protect free speech against arbitrary decisions, and at the same time protect our citizens and democracies.”

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The EU shared its findings in its first report on platforms’ handling of mis and disinformation as part of the Digital Services Act. The sweeping law, which recently went into effect, requires major platforms to disclose details about their handling of misinformation. Dozens of companies have additionally agreed to a voluntary “Code of Practice” on disinformation. X announced in May that it was pulling out of the agreement, though the company said it would adhere to the stricter disinformation policies required under the DSA.

The report found that X outstripped many of its larger peers when it comes to the volume of disinformation on its platform, and the engagement such posts attract. “X … is the platform with the largest ratio of mis/disinformation posts,” European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said in a statement. The report also found that X ranked the highest in discoverability of misinformation and disinformation, followed by Facebook and Instagram.

X didn’t respond to a request for comment. In a series of tweets from its Global Affairs account, the company disputed the “framing” of the data and said it remains “committed to complying with the DSA.”

In a statement, Jourova said that all of the major platforms need to “to adjust their actions to reflect that there is a war in the information space waged against us.” She said that upcoming elections within the EU “will be an important test for the Code that platforms signatories should not fail.”

She also said that Musk would not be “off the hook” just because Twitter pulled out of the code of practice, according to comments reported by The Guardian. “My message for Twitter/X is you have to comply. We will be watching what you do.”

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EU officials sent a series of questions to X that the company has until October 18 to answer. The commission says it will determine its next steps “based on the assessment of X replies.” The DSA, which passed into law in 2022, requires social companies to proactively moderate and remove illegal content. Failing to do so could lead to periodic fines or penalties that, in X’s case, could total up to “five percent of the company’s daily global turnover,” according to FT.

Researchers and fact-checkers have cautioned about widely distributed misinformation on X following the Hamas attacks on Israel. Tuesday’s letter warned Musk about harmful content on X, signaling that Breton was prepared to use the DSA’s full muscle to enforce compliance. “Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” Breton wrote. “Let me remind you that the Digital Services Act sets very precise obligations regarding content moderation.”

Musk’s response appeared to contain at least a whiff of snark. “Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports,” the X owner and Tesla CEO wrote. “Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that that [sic] the public can see them. Merci beaucoup.” Breton retorted, “You are well aware of your users’ — and authorities’ — reports on fake content and glorification of violence. Up to you to demonstrate that you walk the talk.”

Yaccarino’s response claimed the company redistributed its resources and shuffled internal teams to address moderation issues surrounding the Middle East conflict. She said X has removed or labeled “tens of thousands of pieces of content” since the attacks commenced.

The CEO added that X deleted hundreds of Hamas-aligned accounts from the platform while stating that the company works with counter-terrorism organizations. Yaccarino said X’s Community Notes, a crowdsourced moderation feature, is now supported on Android and the web (with iOS “coming soon”). She also claimed the company has “significantly scaled” a feature that sends notifications to people who liked, replied to or reposted something that later received a Community Note fact-check.

The EU’s newly opened probe also questions how X is prepared to react during a crisis and what procedures it has to handle associated misinformation. The company allegedly has until the end of October to respond to that line of questioning.

Breton isn’t focusing exclusively on X. The commissioner also sent letters to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok owner ByteDance this week, reminding them of their obligations to the DSA in the wake of the Middle East bloodshed.

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The Commission is asking Meta for more information about what it’s done to mitigate illegal content and misinformation related to the ongoing violence in the Middle East. The TikTok request specifically calls out “the spreading of terrorist and violent content and hate speech” and misinformation on the platform. In addition, the Commission wants additional information from TikTok about “its provisions related to the protection of minors online,” and from Meta related to how it’s protecting election integrity.

“By pointing out the responsibility of platforms — and their CEOs — in the management (or lack of management) of illegal content distributed on their platforms, we are sending out a very explicit signal: things have changed in Europe,” Commissioner Breton said in a related speech Wednesday to Parliament. “There is a law. It must be respected.”

Both companies have until October 25 to respond to Middle East crisis questions and November 8 for the other issues. From there, the European Commission will “assess next steps.”

Although affluent Big Tech corporations may have calmly skirted similar requests without consequences in the recent past, the DSA gives the Commission legally binding enforcement power that can carry fines of up to six percent of a company’s global turnover. That’s enough to serve as an effective “stick” against the infringing companies. “With the DSA, we have a complete toolbox that we must make full use of to achieve our goal: to ensure that online security is guaranteed and fundamental rights are fully protected,” said Breton.

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In its press release, the European Commission states that it will look to X's Community Notes feature to determine whether it's effective enough in "mitigating risks" to "civic discourse and electoral processes." It'll also address "suspected shortcomings" in X's decision to limit access to its data firehose, which could negatively affect researchers and other public bodies. The company's advertising platform is in the Commission's crosshairs, too, as is the "suspected deceptive design" of features like paid checkmarks.

In February 2023, all online services operating in the EU had to declare their size to determine if they were a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP). A VLOP is any platform with over 45 million users across the EU. Any company designated as a VLOP had four months to comply with the DSA. These measures include establishing a specific point of contact, transparency in advertising and content moderation and clear, user-friendly terms and conditions. It also requires identifying and mitigating risks such as illegal content, gender-based violence and protecting minors. Other logistical stipulations include permitting vetted researchers to access data that informs about systemic risks in the EU, sharing data with the Commission and having an independent audit annually.

The Commission's actions follow a risk assessment report X submitted in September, a transparency report the platform published in November and ongoing concerns about how X is handling — or mishandling, for that matter — content about the Israel-Hamas War. Breton sent a letter to Elon Musk about the platform's responsibility to moderate posts in line with the DSA. The European Union opened an investigation into X's handling shortly after.

In a statement, Breton explained that the newly announced proceedings show "the time of big online platforms behaving like they are 'too big to care' has come to an end." He continued: "We now have clear rules, ex ante obligations, strong oversight, speedy enforcement, and deterrent sanctions and we will make full use of our toolbox to protect our citizens and democracies." This instance marks the first time the Commission has opened formal proceedings to enforce these EU regulations.

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The European Commission (the EU’s executive arm) says VLOPs have until February 17 to comply with the DSA’s general requirements. Those include making it easy for users to flag illegal content, prioritizing reports from “trusted flaggers,” providing a means of appeal for content moderation decisions, publishing an annual transparency report detailing content moderation processes and bolstering their systems to “ensure a high level of privacy, security and safety of minors.”

The three porn sites also have four months to comply with additional obligations. For instance, they’re required to have mitigation measures in place to prevent the spread of illegal content. This, according to the Commission, includes “child sexual abuse material and content affecting fundamental rights, such as the right to human dignity and private life in case of non-consensual sharing of intimate material online or deepfake pornography.” The three sites must also offer researchers publicly available data and be subject to an annual external independent audit. The Commission says these measures will “empower and protect users online, including minors, and duly assess and mitigate any systemic risks stemming from their services.”

The Commission says it will keep a close eye on the three porn sites to make sure they comply with the rules, “especially concerning the measures to protect minors from harmful content and to address the dissemination of illegal content.”

When asked for comment, Pornhub directed Engadget to a statement claiming that “as of July 31, 2023, Pornhub has 33 million average monthly recipients of the service in the European Union, calculated as an average over the period of the past six months.” As such, Pornhub disputes the EU’s claim that it has more that 45 million monthly users in the bloc. Engadget has also asked XVideos and Stripchat for comment.

The penalties for failing to comply with the DSA’s requirements are severe. Platform holders can be fined up to six percent of their annual global revenue. The Commission may also issue penalties of up to five percent of average daily worldwide revenue for each delayed day that VLOPs fail to abide by remedies, interim measures or commitments. In extreme cases, the EC can also ask national courts to temporarily block access to a given service.

The Commission, which designated its first 19 Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines under the DSA in April, is already holding some VLOPs to account. Earlier this week, the EU opened formal infringement proceedings into X over potential violations of the DSA. Among other things, investigators are looking into whether the platform is doing enough to mitigate risks to “civic discourse and electoral processes.” They’re also examining the “suspected deceptive design” of features such as paid checkmarks. In October, the EU said it was looking into Meta’s and TikTok’s handling of the conflict between Israel and Hamas under the DSA.

Update 12/20 8:38AM ET: Added Pornhub’s statement.

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Under the current arrangement, all designated companies must split the €45.2 million ($48.7 million) that EU's regulators argue is necessary to properly supervise the 20 Very Large Online Platforms and two Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs). Each regulated platform has 45 million or more users with its financial contribution based on the size of that number. They also can't owe more than 0.05 percent of its 2022 net profits. However, companies like Amazon and Pinterest that reported little to no profits won't owe anything. Meta, on the other hand, got a €11 million ($11.9 million) bill under the current arrangement. ByteDance has not publicly announced how much it owes.

Meta takes issue with the European Union regulators' methodology for choosing each company's fees. "Currently, companies that record a loss don't have to pay, even if they have a large user base or represent a greater regulatory burden, which means some companies pay nothing, leaving others to pay a disproportionate amount of the total," a Meta spokesperson remarked. Failure to comply with the fee could lead to a fine of up to six percent of a company's global revenue.

The DSA went into effect in 2023, with Meta's and ByteDance's VLOP designations came alongside other major sites, like Google and X, formerly known as Twitter. Along with the fee, VLOPs must comply with specific regulations like transparent advertising and content moderation, sharing data with the European Commission and cooperating with an annual independent audit.

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