Meta followed up last week’s announcement with live shows for every EU country [File]
| Photo source: REUTERS
Meta Platforms has added security features to its CrowdTangle disinformation tracker for employ during the European Parliament elections, trying to allay EU concerns that sparked an inquiry last month into the fallout of a decision to withdraw the tool.
Last week, the US social media platform said candidates participating in next month’s polls will be shown a notification at the top of their Facebook and Instagram feeds telling them how to protect themselves and their accounts.
This includes directing them to resources that explain how to, among other things, set up two-factor authentication, check security settings, or set up Hidden Words, which is an Instagram feature that automatically sends requests for personal messages containing offensive words, phrases, and emojis to a hidden folder.
Meta, which has more than 250 million monthly users in the European Union, on Monday, following last week’s announcement, released live shows for each EU country, sorted by relevant keywords, public groups and Instagram accounts, enabling real-time election monitoring via researchers, journalists and civil society.
The European Commission welcomed this move.
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“The Commission will monitor the effective implementation of these features and will continue to work with Meta to develop more strong solutions that address all its concerns identified in the opening decision,” the EU’s executive director said in a statement.
“Formal proceedings against Meta remain open,” he said.
