The EU is reportedly set to open an investigation into Meta’s inaction over countering disinformation on Facebook and Instagram.

According to the Financial Times, the European Commission is concerned that the company’s moderation practices do not stop the spread of disinformation political advertising, and that its lack of action risk undermining the electoral process.

Regulators are braced for an artificial intelligence-fuelled spread of fake news across social media, with the report stating that EU officials fear that Meta’s tools to flag illegal content is not easily accessible enough to comply with the landmark Digital Services Act.

In particular, the Commission’s investigation is based on a report sent by Meta in September on how the company is handling information risks and will evaluate whether the way that Facebook and Instagram place political ads is compliant with the DSA.

Should it be found to be in violation, the company will be given five working days to say what it will do to mitigate the situation or face a fine of six per cent of its global turnover under the DSA.

In a statement to the paper, a spokesperson for Meta said: “We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms. We look forward to continuing our co-operation with the European Commission and providing them with further details of this work.”

Microsoft earlier this month said that Russian state-sponsored campaigns to interfere with November’s US presidential election are already underway. The Windows maker’s report claimed that accounts linked to Russia that are disseminating divisive content towards US citizens have ramped up their efforts over the past month and a half, but noted that targeted campaigns are progressing slower than at a similar point than in previous elections.

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