Meta’s reversal on fact-checking, and changes to its moderation policy, continue to raise concerns. Europe’s digital sovereignty chief said on Saturday that Europe would ensure that social media platforms respect citizens’ rights and comply with its rules.
The boss of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, notably accused Europe this week of “censorship”. He echoed comments from Elon Musk, who criticized a landmark EU law on digital content and is a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump.
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“A safe and fair digital environment”
“Social media platforms play a huge role in people’s daily lives, but they also have enormous social and economic importance and influence. In Europe, we want to create a safe and fair digital environment,” Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president of the European Commission, in charge of technological sovereignty over X, wrote on X.
“Our task is to ensure that the rights of European citizens are respected and that our legislation is enforced. This ensures a level playing field and a safe online environment for everyone,” she added in a second message.
Henna Virkkunen’s comments appear as a defense against Mark Zuckerberg’s recent attacks against the European Union, but she refrained from making a direct reference to the boss of Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp) or to Elon Musk, that of x.
Record fines imposed on technology companies
In an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan on Friday, Mark Zuckerberg called on Trump to act to defend big US tech companies against EU sanctions. “I think it’s a strategic advantage for the United States to have many of the strongest companies in the world. And I think it should be part of the American strategy in the future to defend that,” said the Facebook boss.
He also claimed that the EU had fined tech companies “over $30 billion over the last 10 or 20 years”, arguing that its policy towards the companies was “almost like a tariff “.
The statements come days after Meta Group announced it was abandoning third-party fact-checking in the United States and moving to a model known as “Community Note” popularized by X , where users themselves moderate and debunk lies.
