Meta’s Trump backtrack: it’s time for Europe to act
date
Jan 9, 2025
slug
2025-meta’s-trump-backtrack-it’s-time-for-europe-to-act
status
Published
tags
accountability
disinformation
digital platforms
Meta
twitter
type
Post
summary
Mark Zuckerberg's announcement of Meta's dismantling of its anti-disinformation unit is the perfect chance for the UK and the EU to curb their God syndrome
In one of the most spectacular displays of obedience and opportunism coming from a global tech leader, Mark Zuckerberg announced that even the almost irrelevant effort to curb disinformation and hate speech on his monopolistic platforms will end. The once-innovator also said that a model similar to the one used by Twitter should replace the Menlo Park fact-checking teams. In practice, users will leave notes on content they find inaccurate (and the definition of “inaccurate” is as loose as a blank page). In real terms, control would be zero.
It's striking how spineless an executive—once admired by Steve Jobs as "the only one who understood social media"—can become. Threatened by Trump, Meta will now serve as the president-elect's pet, doing his bidding to keep monetizing their monopolistic money-printing machines. But we cannot dwell on his cowardice. The gravity of this situation demands that European leaders prepare for an open war with the American data giants.
Brussels and London must clearly warn Meta and other tech companies that they will face heavy fines if they cannot ensure their platforms are safe for European users. If that's not enough, they should be banned from generating any revenue across the EU and UK's 28 jurisdictions. This should come with no negotiations or grace periods—just immediate shutdown.
Mark Zuckerberg's adherence to the "freedom of speech absolutism" that Elon Musk uses as justification is a cynical attempt to justify his reasons. "Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play." The phrase is not from Elon Musk, but it fits perfectly what his lord thinks about the role of the media. Freedom of speech certainly gives anyone the right to maintain whatever one may find just, but it does not allow spreading false information. Doing so is - already - an infringement of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Code of Practice on Disinformation, the European Media Freedom Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), plus the laws that each member state has to protect its citizens from information manipulation. These laws are already being disobeyed, and though US companies had enough time to abide by them, they haven't. The companies should be given a cease and desist order followed by a swift shutdown of all their operations before starting any eventual negotiation. The loss of 800 million potential users would certainly make Mark Zuckerberg have second thoughts about his latest decisions.
Such measures would first and foremost protect European citizens from exposure to the mosaic of misinformation that makes all far-right European leaders smile, but even the business consequences could be positive for the market in Europe. Without the presence of the US monopolistic players, native stakeholders would have a huge market to explore and, hopefully, users would have more than one option to replace the previous platforms. This is not a game where everyone can join, given the size of the investment needed, but it still would be much more open than it is right now.
What about Google? Although the search giant is undeniably one of the biggest profiteers from digital disinformation (circa 73% of the revenues directed to disinformation actors passes through the Google ad exchanges), the Californian company has a history of litigation with the European Union and is probably more prepared to make concessions. Other than that, its executives have not—at least so far—displayed the extraordinary loyalty to the incoming American president.
By challenging the U.S. data giants, Europe would not be overreacting, because sanctions should have been imposed long ago. A trade war with the U.S. will happen anyway, and given the open threats to Canada, Panama, and Denmark that gained the headlines in the last few days, a peaceful coexistence with the new administration seems highly unlikely. The structure of the legal framework of the European Union and United Kingdom will, with all certainty, be tested during the next four years. Europe has waited too long for goodwill. It's time for direct confrontation, or the sewage of disinformation sponsored by the U.S. next president's doormats will infect European soil much harder.