Commission sends request for information to Meta under the Digital Services Act

The European Commission has formally sent Meta a request for information under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission is requesting Meta to provide additional information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations to assess risks and take effective mitigation measures linked to the protection of minors, including regarding the circulation of self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM) on Instagram. Information is also requested about Instagram's recommender system and amplification of potentially harmful content.

Meta must provide the requested information to the Commission by 22 December 2023. Based on the assessment of the replies, the Commission will assess next steps. This could entail the formal opening of proceedings pursuant to Article 66 of the DSA.

Pursuant to Article 74 (2) of the DSA, the Commission can impose fines for incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in response to a request for information. In case of failure to reply, the Commission may decide to request the information by decision. In this case, failure to reply by the deadline could lead to the imposition of periodic penalty payments.

Following its designation as a Very Large Online Platform, Meta's platform Instagram is required to comply with the full set of provisions introduced by the DSA, including the assessment and mitigation of risks related to the dissemination of illegal and harmful content, any negative effects on the exercise of fundamental rights, including on children's rights, and on the protection of minors.

Meta has already received a first RFI on 19 October 2023 concerning the spreading of terrorist and violent content, hate speech and the alleged spread of disinformation, as well as a second RFI on 10 November 2023 related to the protection of minors. The current RFI addresses issues not covered by the previous RFI on protection of minors.

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