Facebook, Instagram in EU crosshairs for election disinformation

Meta Platforms' Facebook and Instagram have failed to tackle deceptive advertising and disinformation in the run-up to European Parliament elections, the European Commission said on Tuesday as it opened an investigation into suspected breaches of EU online content rules.

The move by EU tech regulators came amid concerns about Russia, China and Iran as potential sources of disinformation, but also inside the EU, with some political parties and organizations seeking to attract voters with lies in the June 6-9 vote to select the next five-year parliament.

The Digital Services Act which kicked in last year requires Big Tech to do more to counter illegal and harmful content on their platforms or risk fines of as much 6% of their global annual turnover.

"We suspect that Meta's moderation is insufficient, that it lacks transparency of advertisements and content...