ALBAWABA - On Wednesday, the European Union (EU) expressed its worry with "harmful" content that is uploaded on Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube, requesting that the digital platforms provide further information on the manner in which they promote content to users, AFP reports.
According to the European Commission, which is the most powerful digital watchdog in the European Union, the three platforms are required to submit further information on the design and operation of their “recommender systems,” used by platforms in order to push more personalized content forward.
The inquiry, which is being conducted in accordance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union, is looking into the reasons why vulnerable individuals are being exposed to content that glorifies eating disorders, depression, and drug misuse, as well as misinformation related to elections, as reported by Euro News.
EU commits €1 Billion for Lebanon to aid with unregulated immigration and refugee situationThe Commission is seeking info regarding the effect that technologies such as autoplay and limitless scrolling have on users, as well as the safety measures that platforms put in place in order to avoid the distribution of dangerous information.
AFP cites a senior official from the European Union saying that the commission was engaged to attain an understanding of “what kind of controls" the platforms had in place and “how effective these controls are.” The source also stated that regulators were looking for access to "a lot of internal documents on the tests they have done.”
The senior official said the EU was "acting on a suspicion" of infringement, but the platforms will have the chance to address the commission's concerns as the request is a first step in a possible compliance procedure and does not suggest an offense or punishment.
