On Wednesday 18 May, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) debated with Frances Haugen, the US whistleblower who revealed major problems with Facebook’s content moderation (see EUROPE 12828/2). They discussed the impact that the Digital Markets Act (DMA) (see EUROPE 12953/31) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 12938/6) could have.
“The DSA and DMA will make social networks less toxic for users. These are historic texts. We will now have an alternative for content moderation”, Frances Haugen began.
Referring to the rapid developments in the technology sector and the lack of transparency in companies such as Facebook, Haugen used her appearance before the IMCO committee to call on the EU to “put its words into action” in implementing the DSA-DMA package.
“This is a key point: we can make magnificent laws, but that’s pointless if we don’t implement them”, commented Dita Charanzová (Renew Europe, Czech Republic).
To this end, the Facebook whistleblower has repeatedly stressed the need for resources to train the younger generations in various areas, such as the regulation of the content and algorithms of the major platforms.
“We are experiencing economic difficulties, with the pandemic and the war. We need to have sufficient resources to guarantee staff training. Tens of thousands of people will have to be trained, especially for regulation. This requires resources and I hope you will have the courage to make the right decisions”, she added.
Ms Haugen also welcomed the work done on the ban on targeted advertising to minors. The result on this issue, which was debated at length by the co-legislators, did not please all political groups. Some, such as The Left, had expressed their desire for this ban apply for everyone, not just minors.
During the discussion, several MEPs asked Frances Haugen how the issue of content moderation is being dealt with in United States, and a delegation of MEPs from the IMCO committee will visit Silicon Valley from 23 to 27 May.
“We don’t even talk about it in the US. It’s a very divisive and polarising issue. I am glad that the EU has put this on the table, because we will not be in the vanguard concerning this matter”, she summarised.
Could this strengthen the conviction of some MEPs who hope the DSA-DMA package will provide a foundation for future legislation in third countries? Perhaps. “This is a start. We hope that this will serve as a model for other countries, that it will be a source of inspiration for the USA for example”, stated Arba Kokalari (EPP, Sweden). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)