Do Meta's announcements run counter to the European regulation on digital services?

Meta's new rules on content moderation in the United States will not apply in the EU.

Transcript

00:00The EU has been closely following the decisions taken by the big tech in recent weeks.

00:12Ex-CEO Elon Musk's claims are already causing a stir in Europe.

00:17Content moderation changes announced by Meta in the US also raise questions among the EU.

00:26Mark Zuckerberg has announced the replacement of fact-checking with community notes on its

00:30Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram platforms in the name of freedom of expression.

00:37But do these changes infringe EU regulations?

00:42Meta might have to first provide a risk assessment analysis to the European Commission.

00:48We don't say which content moderation policies very large online platforms have to put in

00:52place.

00:53It's their responsibility.

00:55If they want to rely fully on community notes, it is a possibility.

01:00Now this possibility, whatever model a platform chooses, needs to be effective.

01:06And this is what we are looking at.

01:08If a platform violates the Digital Services Act, formal proceedings are initiated.

01:13If the decision is found to be non-compliant and the platform doesn't commit to settle

01:17the case, fines can reach up to 6% of the company's global annual turnover.

01:24This procedure is criticized for its slowness.

01:26However, the EU has other cards in hand.

01:31There are other instruments that might come into play in extreme cases, I emphasize extreme.

01:40Consider for example the measures that were taken to block Russia Today and Sputnik at

01:44the time of the sanctions on Russia at the time of Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine.

01:50That was done as part of a sanctions regime implemented through the Council, acting in

01:55its foreign policy configuration, and that can happen almost overnight.

02:02The very large digital platforms, the European Commission and the German regulator will also

02:06meet around the table on the 24th of January to discuss the European regulations before

02:11the early elections in Germany in February.