European Union officials are nearing agreement on a sweeping new law aimed at protecting internet users by forcing big tech companies like Google and Facebook to step up their efforts to curb the spread of hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content.
Under the EU law, governments would be able to request companies take down a wide range of content that would be deemed illegal, including material that promotes terrorism, child sexual abuse, hate speech and commercial scams. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter would have to give users tools to flag such content
To show they're making progress on limiting these practices, tech companies would have to carry out annual risk assessments of their platforms.Up until now, regulators have had no access to the inner workings at Google, Facebook and other popular services. But under the new law, the companies will have to be more transparent and provide information to regulators and independent researchers on content-moderation efforts.
But the companies aren't likely to do so voluntarily, said Zach Meyers, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank. There is just too much money on the line if a company like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is restricted in how it can target advertising at specific groups of users.
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