The French foreign ministry voiced "concern" Wednesday over Meta's decision to halt US fact-checking operations for its Facebook and Instagram platforms, saying it would be "vigilant" over the group's respect of European laws.
"Freedom of expression, a fundamental right protected in France and Europe, cannot be conflated with a right to spread viral content that reaches millions of users without filter or moderation," a ministry spokesman said in a statement.
"France will remain vigilant to ensure that Meta and other platforms respect their obligations under European laws, in particular the Digital Services Act," the spokesman said.
He said the DSA, a sweeping law that came into force in March 2024, is "an integral part of the EU's good democratic functioning, and for protecting citizens from foreign meddling and manipulation of information".
Meta on Tuesday abruptly slashed its content moderation in the United States, including ending its fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram, in a move that conforms with the priorities of incoming president Donald Trump.
A French minister said earlier Wednesday that Meta is also studying how halting fact checking on its platforms would fare under EU law.
Junior minister for digital technologies Clara Chappaz told AFP that the study aimed to "understand what the impact on users will be and to ensure that moderation remains at a high standard".
AFP currently works in 26 languages with Facebook's fact checking programme, in which Facebook pays to use fact checks from around 80 organisations globally on the platform as well as on WhatsApp and on Instagram.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
