French diplomacy expressed its “concern” on Wednesday over the decision of Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) to cease its fact-checking operations in the United States, assuring that it will be “vigilant” over compliance by the group of European legislation.
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“Freedom of expression, a fundamental right protected in France and in Europe, cannot be confused with a right to virality which would authorize the dissemination of inauthentic content affecting millions of users without filter or moderation,” said the spokesperson. word of French diplomacy in a declaration.
“France will maintain its vigilance to ensure that Meta, as well as other platforms, respects their obligations with regard to European legislation, and in particular the Digital Service Act (DSA),” adds the spokesperson, according to whom this regulation is “an integral part of the proper democratic functioning of the EU, and to protect our fellow citizens from foreign interference and manipulation of information”.
Mark Zuckerberg’s group announced Tuesday that it was ending its fact-checking program in the United States and replacing it with a context note system, similar to that used by X.
Meta’s announcement comes as US Republicans and the owner of rival social network X, Elon Musk, have repeatedly complained about fact-checking programs, which they liken to censorship.
The AFP participates in more than 26 languages in a fact-checking program developed by Facebook, which pays more than 80 media outlets around the world to use their fact-checks on its platform, on WhatsApp and on Instagram.
