End of CrowdTangle: EU Commission demands accountability from Meta
The EU Commission wants to know from Meta how it intends to comply with the Digital Services Act without CrowdTangle. Meta shut down the service on Wednesday.
Following the discontinuation of the CrowdTangle analysis tool, the EU Commission is demanding accountability from Meta.
(Image: Koshiro K/Shutterstock.com)
Two days after Meta shut down its CrowdTangle analysis tool, the company received a letter from the EU Commission on Friday. As part of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission wants to know from Meta how it will fulfill the DSA requirements that the tool previously covered - such as access to data and API for science - without CrowdTangle.
The Commission would also like to know how Meta intends to fulfill its role as an independent observer of elections and social discourse without CrowdTangle – particularly about the CrowdTangle successor Content Library and the application programming interfaces (API). Meta is also expected to comment on the criteria according to which the social media giant will grant access, how to apply for it and which data and functions will then be available.
Formal procedure has been underway since April
The EU Commission had already initiated formal proceedings against Meta in April based on the DSA. One of the points of criticism was that there was no effective tool for real-time monitoring of social discourse and election observation in the run-up to the European Parliament elections and other elections. The Commission also found the way Meta granted research teams access to publicly available data inadequate.
Meta had only equipped CrowdTangle with new functions in May. At the time, the aim was to allay the Commission's concerns regarding the elections, according to the Commission. This included 27 real-time public dashboards - one for each member state - to give outsiders an insight into current social discourse and election monitoring. With the end of CrowdTangle, this function is therefore also a thing of the past.
Discontinuation despite numerous protests
Meta now has until September 6 to provide the Commission with the requested information. The EU institution will then decide what the next steps should be. These could include provisional measures and a decision that Meta is in breach of the DSA – but also that Meta makes promises to clarify the issues raised. If the company answers the request incompletely, incorrectly or not at all, the Commission can impose a fine on Meta.
Meta had already announced in the spring that it intended to discontinue the CrowdTangle tool, which is also popular with journalists. Despite numerous protests and requests to discontinue CrowdTangle only after the 2024 super election year, Meta discontinued the service on Wednesday.
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