EU officials are investigating Meta, worried that it is not doing enough to protect the upcoming EU elections or crack down on foreign misinformation on its platform and could face huge fines or other penalties.

An EU source familiar with the investigation said the new investigation focused on Meta's handling of advertisements for fraudsters and foreign election interferers. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The investigation also focused on the decision to shut down an analytical tool widely used by researchers and journalists to monitor the Meta platform.

The source added that one of the drivers of the investigation was concerns about Meta's ability to respond to Russian false information activities that could undermine the integrity of the election.

The investigation is the latest example of a show of strength by European regulators after a series of new laws aimed at curbing US tech giants were passed.

EU sources said the investigation highlightedFreecoinshouseoffun2020An apparent violation of the Digital Services Act (Digital Services Act), Europe's signature law governing online platforms. If confirmed, Meta could face hefty fines of up to 6 per cent of its global revenues.

As part of the investigation, EU sources said they were also investigating whether Meta's decision to rank low political content in user streams violated DSA transparency rules. The tools provided by Meta to report illegal content do not seem to meet the requirements of DSA, they added.

Last fall, Meta submitted the necessary materials to the European Commission (European Commission) outlining how the company manages the perceived risks associated with its products. However, the survey reflects EU scepticism about the success of Meta in managing these risks.

A key aspect of the investigation was Meta's decision to shut down CrowdTangle, an once popular tool used by civil society groups to track trend conversations on Facebook and Instagram.

EU sources say that without it, users and researchers will have less visibility into what is happening on the Meta service, and it may be more difficult to detect foreign electoral intervention.

Meta said earlier this year that CrowdTangle would be retired after Aug. 14.

EU sources said stopping support for CrowdTangle without a good enough alternative could make it more difficult to track misinformation and voter repression, damaging the election as a whole.

A spokesman for Meta said in a statement that the company would cooperate with the investigation.

"We have a comprehensive process to identify and reduce risks on our platform," the spokesman said. " "We look forward to continuing to work with the European Commission and to provide them with more details of this work."