EU Investigates Meta and TikTok Over Content Moderation in Israel-Hamas Conflict

After X, the European Commission has initiated a formal inquiry into Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, over concerns that their content moderation practices may have violated the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On Thursday, the European Commission sent formal requests for information letters to Meta and TikTok, with a deadline of October 25, Politico reported.

These letters request details regarding the measures taken by the platform firms to control the spread of illegal content and disinformation on their widely-used platforms, particularly following the conflict initiated by Hamas' attack in Israel, the report added.

X, formerly Twitter, received a similar request for information and had to respond by October 18 concerning measures taken in response to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

A formal request for information is an initial step that could lead to the European Commission launching an official investigation if there is evidence of non-compliance. Companies could potentially face fines of up to 6 percent of their annual global revenue if they are found to have violated the DSA.

In addition to the Israel-Hamas conflict-related content, the European Commission has given both Meta and TikTok until November 8 to outline their compliance with other potential issues, including how they have safeguarded the integrity of elections. TikTok is also required to clarify its measures for protecting minors on its video-sharing app, which is widely used by European teenagers.

Last week, both Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, and Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, were cautioned by the Internal Market Commissioner to intensify their efforts in combating falsehoods and illegal posts, such as terrorist propaganda.

As of now, neither Meta nor TikTok has provided an immediate response to requests for comment.