Meta And The European Union Agree To Do Stress Tests On EU Online Content Rules

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (left) and EU Industry Minister Thierry Breton (photo: Twitter @ThierryBreton)

JAKARTA - Meta Platform Inc., and the European Union (EU) have agreed to do a stress test in July regarding EU's online content rules, following EU Industry Minister Thierry Breton's request for the social media platform to act immediately on targeted Meta content to children.

"Prolific discussions with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Menlo Park regarding EU digital rules: DSA, DMA, and AI Act," Breton said in a tweet, adding that 1,000 Meta employees were working on the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Productive discussion with @Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Menlo Park 🇺🇸 on EU digital rules: DSA, DMA & AI Act.Preparedness on its way with 1000 Meta employees working on #DSAWe agreed to do a ‘stress test’ in July.EU’s motto: “Move fast to fix things” 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/8LoJpD7c7O

— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) June 23, 2023

Productive Discussion with @Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Menlo Park Laughs at EU digital rules: DSA, DMA & AI Act.Preparedness on its way with 1000 Meta employees working on #DSAWe applied to do a stress test in July.EUs motto: Move fast to fix things twitter.com/8LoJpD7c7O

Breton earlier in June stated that Meta should show the steps it will take to comply with EU's online content rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) after August 25, or face severe sanctions.

DSA prohibits certain types of targeted ads on online platforms, such as ads aimed at children or when using specific categories of personal data, such as ethnicity, political views, and sexual orientation.

Meta has not yet responded to a request for comment from Reuters.

Meta has so far adhered to applicable rules in the context of online content regulation. However, with the new EU rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), Meta is expected to show concrete steps it will take to comply with stricter requirements related to targeted content to children and other users.

In this case, Meta will be required to describe concrete actions that will be implemented to ensure compliance with the DSA and to ban certain types of advertisements prohibited by the regulation. If Meta cannot meet these requirements beyond August 25, they have the potential to face severe sanctions from the European Union.