Sinn Féin MEP for Ireland South, Kathleen Funchion, has called on the EU Commission to protect democratic principles and minority groups from the new Meta polices with regards to their social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram.

MEP Funchion hit out at Meta for hiding certain hashtags on their platforms that would typically be used by progressive groups.

She also hit out at the tech giant for the cessation of their policy on fact-checking – thus permitting harmful and false material to be published onto their platforms.

MEP Funchion said:

“I am absolutely appalled that social media platforms, such as Instagram, have hidden searches for progressive hashtags, such as the one used by our political group the Left in the European Parliament.

“This is an anti-democratic move which harms the freedom to be heard for legitimate and progressive groups with mandates from the public, and must not be tolerated.

“I am also deeply concerned at the decision of Meta to cease fact checking content published onto their platforms. This new policy they have embarked on will permit false and harmful content to flourish and paired with hiding legitimate viewpoints will result in manipulation of the public. I am particularly concerned for the vulnerable groups that this new policy will affect.

“If social media sites like Meta are to be considered our modern day town halls or city squares, these manipulation tactics must be shut down by policy makers to ensure fair and equal discourse and functioning democracy.

“The Commission has an important role to play here. We in Sinn Féin have written to the Commission asking them to outline in detail what actions it intends to take to both protect the freedom to be heard of legitimate political movements, and what actions they will take to ensure that Meta does not permit, and is held accountable for, false and harmful content published on their platforms in EU Member States.

“As legislators, we all have a role to play in protecting democratic principles and taking the heat out of much of the political rhetoric at the moment. We cannot permit bad faith actors to add to that heat by permitting false and harmful content to circulate freely without being fact-checked.”