Meta, TikTok agree to boost fact-checking after Ceuta migrant rush — EU

The European Union announced on Tuesday that Meta and TikTok have agreed to voluntary measures to enhance fact-checking of harmful disinformation related to the recent Ceuta migrant rush. However, the EU did not exclude the possibility of compelling the tech giants to take further action. The European Commission stated that it had increased coordination with Meta and TikTok, along with the European police force Europol, and established a mechanism to improve cooperation between the platforms and local fact-checkers.

The spokesman for the EU's executive, Balazs Ujvari, mentioned that the platforms confirmed their activation of crisis protocols and the creation of an ad-hoc escalation and cooperation mechanism. This mechanism can be activated during times of crisis under the EU's online content rules, the Digital Services Act (DSA), and was implemented on a voluntary basis "under the coordination of the Commission."

The mechanism aims to provide platforms with better information from fact-checkers tasked with identifying "harmful disinformation related to, for example, a potential new mass crossing of the border." The move followed talks between the EU, Meta, and TikTok on Friday and Monday. Both platforms emphasized their strict policies against content that encourages or enables human smuggling and illegal border crossings, and their collaboration with journalism and fact-checking organizations in Spain and Morocco.