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Meta has received another formal request for information (RFI) from European Union regulators seeking more details of its response to child safety concerns on Instagram \u2014 including what it\u2019s doing to tackle risks related to the sharing of self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM) on the social network.<\/p>\n
The request is being made under the bloc\u2019s recently rebooted online rulebook the Digital Services Act<\/a> (DSA), which started applying for larger in-scope platforms (including Instagram<\/a>) in late August.<\/p>\n The DSA puts obligations on Big Tech to tackle illegal content \u2014 including by having measures and protections in place to prevent misuse of their services. The regulation also has a strong focus on the protection of minors so it\u2019s not surprising to see a number of early RFIs made by the European Commission concern child safety.<\/p>\n The latest Commission request to Meta comes hard on the heels of a report by the WSJ<\/a> that suggests Instagram is struggling to clean up a CSAM problem\u00a0it exposed this summer \u2014 when it reported Instagram\u2019s algorithms were connecting a web of accounts<\/a> which were being used for making, buying and trading underage-sex content.<\/p>\n In June<\/a>, following the WSJ\u2019s expos\u00e9, the EU warned Meta it faces a risk of \u201cheavy sanctions\u201d if it doesn\u2019t act quickly to tackle the child protection issues.<\/p>\n Now, months later, another report by the WSJ<\/a> claims Meta has failed to rectify the issues identified \u2014 despite the company setting up a child safety task force to try to stop \u201cits own systems from enabling and even promoting a vast network of pedophile accounts\u201d, as the newspaper puts it.<\/p>\n \u201cFive months later, tests conducted by the Journal as well as by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection show that Meta\u2019s recommendation systems still promote such content [i.e. accounts dedicated to producing and sharing underage-sex content],\u201d it reports. \u201cThe company has taken down hashtags related to pedophilia but its systems sometimes recommend new ones with minor variations. Even when Meta is alerted to problem accounts and user groups, it has been spotty in removing them.\u201d<\/p>\n Spotty performance by Meta on tackling the sharing of illegal CSAM\/SG-CSAM and failing to act effectively on associated child safety risks could get very expensive for the company in the EU: The DSA empowers the Commission to issue fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover if it finds the regulation\u2019s rules have been broken.<\/p>\n Already, just over a year ago, Meta was fined under half a billion dollars<\/a> after Instagram was found to have violated the bloc\u2019s data protection rules for minors.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Commission is requesting Meta to provide additional information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations to assess risks and take effective mitigation measures linked to the protection of minors, including regarding the circulation of SG-CSAM on Instagram. Information is also requested about Instagram\u2019s recommender system and amplification of potentially harmful content,\u201d the EU wrote in a press release today, announcing its latest intel-gathering step on the platform.<\/p>\n As well as the possibility of financial sanctions there could be reputational concerns for Meta if EU regulators are repeatedly seen questioning its approach to safeguarding minors.<\/p>\n This is the third RFI Meta has received since DSA compliance begun to apply on the company \u2014 and the second to focus on child safety on Instagram<\/a>. (The EU has also asked Meta for more details of its handling of content risks related to the Israel-Hamas war; and about what it\u2019s doing to ensure election security<\/a>.)<\/p>\n So far the EU hasn\u2019t announced any formal investigation proceedings under the DSA. But the early flurry of RFIs show it\u2019s busy making assessments which could lead to such a step \u2014 opening up the risk of penalties down the line should any breaches be confirmed.<\/p>\n Meta has been given a deadline of December 22 to provide the Commission with the latest tranche of requested child safety data. Failures to comply with RFIs \u2014 such as by sending incorrect, incomplete, or misleading<\/a> information in response to a request \u2014 can also attract DSA sanctions.<\/p>\n Meta was contacted for comment on the latest RFI.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n