The European Union Approves New Rules Targeting Large Online Google, Meta, And Platforms Regarding Content Moderation

On Tuesday, October 3, EU legislators voted in support of the draft rules aimed at Alphabet Inc, Meta Platforms Inc., and other major online platforms regarding restrictions on the moderation of their content. This was done after several media complained about the platform's arbitrary decisions in removing their content.

The draft rules require the online platform to continue serving news content for 24 hours, before deleting it if this news violates their content moderation regulations.

Known as Article 17 in the Media Freedom Act proposed by the European Commission last year to ensure media plurality and maintain editorial independence. This article has raised concerns among online platforms.

"The media should be notified of the platform's intention to remove or limit their content along with a 24-hour window for the media to respond," legislators said in a statement. The platform can remove, limit, or refer the case to national regulators after a 24-hour period if it still violates platform terms and conditions.

The CCIA European technology advocacy group, whose members include Google, Meta, and X, said that Article 17 could be exploited by some to spread disinformation.

"Exclusion for this media will empower irresponsible parties to create new loopholes to spread fake news rather than fix the problem," CCIA Europe senior policy manager Mathilde Adjutor said in a statement.

Legislators have also chosen to ban the use of spy devices (spyware) against journalists unless they can be justified as a last resort and also require the media to be transparent about their holdings.

Legislators will have to discuss the details of the proposed draft rules with EU member states in the coming months before these rules can be adopted.

Concerns about political interference in the media are increasing ahead of key elections in Poland this month and the European Parliament next year.