Meta Platforms’ (META) may be headed for a run-in with the European Union (EU) over plans to end fact checkers, but the company was among a number of social media giants to sign up to a new online code of conduct.
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Facebook and Instagram were among the platforms to agree to a new voluntary code designed by the EU to address and arrest the spread of illegal hate speech online.
Dailymotion Jeuxvideo.com, LinkedIn, Microsoft (MSFT)-hosted consumer services, Snapchat (SNAP), Rakuten Viber, TikTok, Twitch, X and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) YouTube also signed up to the new code of conduct that forms part of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
The voluntary code is designed to facilitate firms’ compliance with existing rules within the EU covering so-called hate speech.
Could META Pull in Opposite Direction?
But the move comes just as META says it is ending third-party fact-checking on its platforms, which could see it face backlash from EU regulators.
While the move to a Community Notes system similar to that of X is currently only taking place in the U.S., the company said it will “test and refine” the new approach before rolling it out elsewhere.
Speaking to Bloomberg, META Head of Global Business Nicola Mendelsohn said the company would maintain fact checkers outside of the U.S. for the time being.
“So, nothing changing in the rest of the world at the moment, we are still working with those fact checkers around the world,” she said.
But a move to end fact-checkers could see the company run afoul of the code of conduct, if not the DSA itself.
In its most recent Community Standards Enforcement Report, a quarterly report on how META ensures its platforms are “safe and inclusive”, the company noted it is now taking more action on hate speech on Instagram than on Facebook.
It acted against 8 million pieces of hate speech content on Instagram in the third quarter of 2024, against 6.4 million on Facebook.
Is META a Good Stock to Buy?
Overall, Wall Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock, based on 40 Buys, three Holds and one Sell. The average META price target of $689.73 implies around 10% upside from current levels. Shares of META have risen 62% in the past year.
