Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the internal market, has urged Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram), X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA), remove illegal and false content on their platforms, and provide details on their countermeasures against the spread of illegal and false content.

The request was made following the war between Israel and Hamas, which gave rise to a notable spike in misleading content. The DSA’s objectives are to oversee the digital domain, ensure users’ fundamental rights, and curtail the dissemination of unlawful material. To this end, the DSA sets rigorous criteria for “very large online platforms” like Meta and TikTok, compelling them to be transparent about their risk assessments and actions against disinformation.

Platforms governed by the DSA are tasked with diligently monitoring and mitigating illegal content, with potential penalties for non-compliance being up to 6% of the company’s annual revenue. In response, Meta established a dedicated operations center to swiftly address content violations.

Click here to read the letter from Commissioner Thierry Breton.

Click here to read about the European Commission’s demand to provide information on the measures taken to comply with the law.