Brussels – The alarm is serious and concerns the freedom of expression. According to the Green MEP, Alexandra Geese, “Meta is censoring women, progressives, and LGBTQ accounts” by limiting the visibility of their social media channels. For this reason, on 6 May, Geese submitted a parliamentary question in which she reported that a growing number of European influencers “are reporting on their accounts that their content on Instagram is being restricted, their reach reduced, or their accounts suspended. The majority of these influencers call out hate speech, share information about sex, women’s health, and self-determination, or are part of the LGBTQI community. They report that their accounts have been subject to reach restrictions or suspended without transparent or reasonable justifications.” In its response, the European Commission explained that it was “aware of the issue referred to” and “is in touch with relevant stakeholders.”
The MEP pointed out that “Meta representatives claim they’re removing sexual content. But rather than combatting sexual violence, they silence those who stand up for women.” Thus, “What began as a domestic American policy is being exported by Meta across the world, including the European Union. While claiming to defend free speech, they use social media to kill it.” According to Geese, this is a situation that raises “fundamental questions” about freedom of expression in the EU, as it appears that large non-European platforms are the ones deciding which content can be published and which cannot. These companies “have significant influence over public discourse in Europe”, she added. And it is a situation that “affects not only individual users but democratic debate culture as a whole.” But the EU has a means of self-defence: “Fortunately, the DSA gives Europeans instruments to defend themselves against tech bro censorship. Now the European Commission must use them.” Therefore, the concern is that Meta is not complying with the obligations set out in the Digital Services Act (DSA), particularly with regard to the obligation to provide clear and specific reasons (Article 17), effective and accessible internal complaint procedures (Article 20), and risk assessment (Article 34). For this reason, the MEP has asked the Commission whether it intends to launch formal proceedings to assess whether Meta is in breach of certain provisions of the DSA.
The Commission gave its reply in writing on 7 July, from the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for technological sovereignty, Henna Virkunnen. “The Commission is aware of the issue referred to and is in touch with relevant stakeholders,” she replied, adding that, under the DSA, search engines and online platform providers of very large platforms —such as Facebook and Instagram—are required “to diligently identify, analyse and assess the systemic risks arising from their services and to take effective measures to mitigate the identified risks.” This includes “the risks of any negative, actual or foreseeable impact on the exercise of fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and information, including media pluralism, electoral processes and civic debate”.
Virkunnen pointed out that the Commission had previously initiated proceedings for breaches of the DSA: one in 2024 against Meta, relating to the suspicion that Facebook and Instagram’s recommendation systems were penalising political content and that the platform had failed to put in place an effective internal complaints-handling system; another on 24 October 2025, when the Commission found that Mark Zuckerberg’s company had breached its obligation to establish an effective internal complaints-handling system. Virkunnen reiterated, however, that the Commission cannot comment on “the details of its investigation, beyond the information that is publicly available.” Furthermore, she clarified that “the Commission is continuously monitoring Meta’s compliance with the DSA, engages in regulatory dialogue, and has sent requests for information, including on Meta’s obligations under the DSA regarding the assessment and mitigation of systemic risks, the provision of clear and specific statements of reason, and transparency obligations”. Therefore, “It is Meta’s responsibility to comply with all applicable EU and national laws, including the DSA and other provisions protecting freedom of expression,” concluded Virkunnen.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
