Commission sends request for information to Meta under the Digital Services Act (1.3.2024)
Today, the Commission has formally sent Meta a request for information (RFI) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission is requesting Meta to provide more information related to the Subscription for no Ads options for both Facebook and Instagram.
European Commission
In particular, Meta should provide additional information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations concerning Facebook and Instagram's advertising practices, recommender systems and risk assessments related to the introduction of that subscription option.
The RFI also addresses several topics which were already included in RFIs sent to Meta since October 2023. These previous RFIs covered issues such as terrorist content, risk management related to civic discourse and election processes, and the protection of minors. The present RFI builds on Meta's previous replies and asks additional information concerning the methodology underlying Meta's risk assessment and mitigation measures reports, the protection of minors, elections and manipulated media. The RFI also requests Meta to provide information related to the practice of so-called shadow banning and the launch of Threads.
Meta must provide the requested information that builds on previous Meta's replies to the Commission by 15 March and to the remaining questions by 22 March 2024. Based on the assessment of Meta's 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 by Meta, 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.
