The European Union cautiously welcomed Meta’s efforts to comply with the new European rules in place (AFP/Lionel BONAVENTURE)
The European Union on Friday cautiously welcomed the efforts of Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to comply with the new European rules in place from the end of August.
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg “was very involved and knew exactly what our positions are,” European Commissioner Thierry Breton told reporters after talks at the group’s headquarters in California.
“Now we expect these promising commitments to translate into results,” he added. “I will be particularly vigilant on progress regarding misinformation and child protection.”
More than 1,000 people work at Meta to comply with new European requirements, said the European Commissioner, adding that the Californian company will conduct a “stress test” in July to check that it is ready for the new regulation.
These simulations would take place at Meta’s European headquarters in Dublin (Ireland). TikTok has also agreed to conduct these “stress tests”, alongside European officials.
Thierry Breton made a two-day visit to San Francisco, eight weeks before the Digital Services Act (DSA) takes effect.
This text is one of the most ambitious regulations in terms of controlling online content since the advent of social networks. It imposes a long list of rules on platforms, marketplaces and search engines, such as the obligation to act “promptly” to remove any illegal or harmful content as soon as the platform becomes aware of it.
Meta, which reaches billions of people around the world, is still under fire for not removing problematic content enough.
Instagram, a subsidiary of Meta, is the main platform used by pedophile networks to promote and sell content showing sexual assault on minors, according to a report by Stanford University and the Wall Street Journal published in early June.
Before Mr. Zuckerberg, Mr. Breton met with Twitter boss Elon Musk. The European Commissioner welcomed the efforts of the social network but asked that Twitter strengthen its means by August 25 in order to comply with the DSA.
© 2023 AFP
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