The EU executive has launched an investigation into social media apps amid fears that vulnerable people are being fed fake news and content encouraging self-harm.
TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat will have to answer European Commission questions about their practices video recommendation algorithmsAs announced by Community Management on Wednesday, October 2nd.
The research, conducted under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), is investigating why vulnerable people are receiving election-related fake news or content glorifying eating disorders, depression and drug use.
The Commission is concerned with the impact of functions such as: autoplay and infinite scrollingand the measures platforms can use to prevent the spread of harmful content.
Under the DSA, the largest online platforms with more than 45 million monthly users must meet strict transparency requirements.
The investigation should serve as a “wake-up call” for the platforms, according to a senior EU official change your behaviorfor example, allowing users to hide certain types of videos.
Sites that do not submit documents or provide incorrect information by November 15 they are subject to fines Under EU law. But the investigation is only an initial step and the EU administration will decide whether to launch a formal procedure after analyzing the responses.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is not subject to this specific request, but in May the Commission opened an investigationA separate question is whether the interfaces of these networks take advantage of children’s inexperience to encourage addictive behavior.
