Meta has been criticized on both sides of the Atlantic for the decision to close Tangled Crowd — a feature considered vital by Researchers tracking viral falsehoods – in a year of important electoral contests in the United States and elsewhere.
CrowdTangle, which has been unavailable since August 14, will be replaced by Meta Content Library, a technology that researchers say does not offer nearly the same functionality.
The European Commission’s request to Meta was sent under the bloc’s Digital Services Act, a landmark new law that cracks down on illegal content online.
Brussels launched a formal investigation into Facebook and Instagram in late April, five weeks before bloc-wide elections in June, over concerns the platforms were failing to counter disinformation.
Alarm bells were raised in particular over plans to shut down CrowdTangle without a suitable alternative.
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In its latest request, the commission asked Meta to provide details by 6 September on how it intends to give researchers access to publicly accessible data on its platforms and how it plans to update its election monitoring functionalities. “Specifically, the Commission is requesting information on Meta’s content library and application programming interface (API), including its eligibility criteria, application process, and the data that can be accessed and its functionalities,” a statement from the commission said.
Researchers and journalists have relied on CrowdTangle for years to track the real-time spread of conspiracies and hate speech on Meta-owned platforms.
Organizations that debunk misinformation as part of Meta’s third-party fact-checking program, including AFP, will have access to the Content Library, but the new tool will not be accessible to for-profit media outlets.
CrowdTangle’s removal is seen as a major blow in a year when dozens of countries are heading to the polls.
In an open letter earlier this year, global nonprofit Mozilla Foundation warned that taking down CrowdTangle would be a “direct threat” to election integrity, urging Meta to retain it until at least January 2025.
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