Tech giant
EU Commission: Proceedings against Facebook parent company Meta
The EU Commission is opening proceedings against Meta. photo
© Andre M. Chang/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Do Facebook and Instagram endanger young people and children? The EU Commission wants to investigate this and is taking action against the US company Meta. There are severe penalties.
The European Commission is opening proceedings against him on suspicion of violations of the protection of minors Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta. There are fears that the design of the services, including their algorithms, could trigger addictive behavior in children, the Brussels authority said.
There are particular fears of so-called rabbit hole effects. What this means is that you get so deeply lost in a topic that you can’t find your way out – similar to how the main character in the story Alice in Wonderland gets lost down a rabbit hole. Algorithms – in simple terms, instructions for computers written by humans – can theoretically recognize and exploit such behavioral patterns so that users spend more time on a platform.
Protection of minors
A new EU law on digital services (DSA) requires online platforms, among other things, to provide special protection for minors. It prohibits targeting them with advertising based on personal information. There is also a need to assess and mitigate risks that exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors and cause addictive behavior.
The Commission has doubts as to whether Meta is adequately complying with these rules on the protection of minors. The company’s age control methods are also cause for concern. These may not be effective.
The commission now wants to continue collecting evidence, for example through interviews. When the procedure is initiated, only a suspicion is being examined; the result has not yet been determined.
Platforms must take action against hate and incitement
The commission had already initiated proceedings against Meta at the end of April. This concerns the suspicion that the company did not adhere to the DSA when dealing with political advertising. Because of the law, platforms not only have to adhere to stricter rules for the protection of minors, but also take action more quickly and sharply than before against illegal content such as hatred and hate speech online. Otherwise they face hefty fines. In principle, large services like Facebook or Tiktok have to follow more rules than small ones.
Proceedings are already underway against the online platform TikTok and the short message service X (formerly Twitter). Tiktok is examining whether the Chinese company is endangering the mental health of minors with its app version Tiktok Lite. After reports of illegal and misleading contributions to the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel, X was sent a list of questions, which the company apparently did not answer to the satisfaction of the EU Commission. Proceedings against X were initiated in mid-December.