“We will work with President Donald Trump to put pressure on governments around the world who are attacking American businesses and pushing for censorship.” This January 7, in a video broadcast on social networks, the boss of the Meta group (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.) announced vast changes in the moderation of content posted on its platforms.
Concretely, Mark Zuckerberg intends in particular to put an end to the partnerships established in recent years with the media to verify information. This fact-checking work will now be carried out by the users of the platforms themselves, with the establishment of a “community notes” system, like the one that exists on too politically oriented and have contributed more to reducing trust than they have improved it, particularly in the United States,” explains the founder of Facebook.
At the same time, Meta is expected to significantly scale back its moderation policy, decreasing removal of hateful content on topics “such as immigration and gender.” Finally, Mark Zuckerberg announced the move of Meta’s “trust and security” service from California, more progressive, to Texas, “where there will be fewer concerns about the bias of our teams”, he assumes.
“A return to a very American vision of freedom of expression”
“In recent years, under the influence of several events and in particular after the invasion of the Capitol, Meta has tended to submit to European and global standards in terms of moderation and verification of content. His press release represents a real break, a return to a very American vision of freedom of expression,” analyzes Valère Ndior, professor of law and specialist in digital technology and social networks.
A turnaround which comes as Mark Zuckerberg, who had suspended Donald Trump’s Facebook account for two years after the invasion of the Capitol, has recently increased his efforts to attract the favor of the new President of the United States. Meta notably donated a million dollars to the fund financing Trump’s inauguration ceremony, and even appointed several Republican loyalists to his board of directors. In November, Zuckerberg also visited the billionaire at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
For the moment, these new rules should only come into force in the United States. In any case, this is what the Minister Delegate in charge of Digital, Clara Chappaz, assures, after an exchange with the management of Meta France on January 7. However, in his video, Mark Zuckerberg directly attacks European regulations which he accuses of “institutionalizing censorship” and calls for “fighting this global trend”, hand in hand with the Trump administration.
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Insufficient regulation of hateful content in Europe?
Concretely, what do European regulations regarding content moderation on social networks look like today? Since February 2024, all platforms must comply with the European Regulation on Digital Services (DSA), which requires them to set up a tool for reporting illegal content (incitement to hatred or violence, harassment, etc.). Once reported, content must be removed. In the event of a violation of the DSA, platforms risk fines of up to 6% of their global turnover, or even a ban on their activities on the European market.
Regulations deemed insufficient by centrist senator Catherine Morin-Desailly, who chaired the bill transposing the European text into French law in the Upper House. “I have always said that we have not gone far enough with the DSA. The current regulations are a half-measure, the platforms are not required to be held accountable for the content published, unlike the media which are responsible before the law,” denounces the senator. “It’s the platforms that make the law. They are more powerful than the States, which, in order not to displease them, are reluctant to regulate them,” laments Catherine Morin-Desailly.
Despite these weaknesses, the European regulation has already pushed the European Commission to open several investigations in recent years, against the American platforms X, Apple and the Meta group. Investigations abruptly put on hold by Ursula von der Leyen with the re-election of Donald Trump, to the great regret of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This January 8, at the microphone of France Inter, Jean-Noël Barrot urged the European Commission to “seize in a much more vigorous manner the tools that we have given it”, otherwise Brussels will have to “return to the Member States and to France the ability to do so.” “If France decided to act alone, this would go against the philosophy of the DSA which seeks to harmonize regulations between states. This would be a real failure for the European Commission, proof that it is incapable of implementing a policy that is its responsibility,” observes Valère Ndior.
End of fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram: Meta also prepares the ground in Europe
The DSA also commits platforms to fight against disinformation, “it is above all a question of fighting against systemic risks such as the destabilization of elections”, explains Valère Ndior. The platforms are also governed by the “European code of conduct against disinformation”. A system to which they voluntarily adhere and which commits them in particular to social networks to strengthen their partnerships with fact checking bodies. In France, for example, the signing of this code of conduct by Meta gave rise to paid partnerships between the group and AFP and Le Monde.
“The most important thing for Meta is to prove that it respects the DSA by showing that it has mobilized all means to prevent the risks of disinformation. Fact checking organizations make a decisive contribution to this work and replacing them with notes from the community does not seem sufficient,” believes Valère Ndior.
If the transformation of information verification rules only concerns the United States for the moment, Meta seems to be preparing the ground for its enlargement in the European Union. This January 7, according to information from the media Contexte, the group sent a note to the Commission aiming to demonstrate that, even without the support of fact-checking organizations on Facebook and Instagram, the platforms will still be in able to comply with the DSA.
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