Meta and TikTok have agreed to strengthen their response to disinformation following the mass movement of migrants into Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta, after false claims online were linked to the rush that saw about 72,000 people cross from Morocco late last month.
The European Union said the two platforms had activated crisis measures and agreed to work more closely with fact-checkers to identify and address harmful information that could fuel another mass crossing.
The European Commission said it had stepped up coordination with Meta and TikTok, working alongside European police force Europol and creating a system to improve cooperation between the technology companies and local fact-checking organisations.
The move followed concerns from experts that false information shared on social media played a role in encouraging migrants to head towards Ceuta. One of the claims that spread widely online was that "the Ceuta border is open".
A spokesman for the European Commission, Balazs Ujvari, said the platforms had already put their crisis measures into action following talks with EU officials.
"The platforms confirmed that they activated their crisis protocols and... it was decided that an ad-hoc escalation and cooperation mechanism would be put in place," Ujvari told reporters.
"For now, we think that this is an effective tool. But of course, if needed, we are ready to go further," he added.
The new arrangement can be activated during a crisis under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets rules for online platforms and their handling of content. Ujvari said the mechanism had been introduced voluntarily and was being coordinated by the European Commission.
He said the arrangement would allow social media companies to receive better and faster information from fact-checkers working to identify false or harmful claims.
It aims to help "platforms get better information from the fact-checkers" tasked with flagging "harmful disinformation related to, for example, a potential new mass crossing of the border," he said.
The latest action followed meetings between the EU and the two platforms held on Friday and Monday. Ujvari said Brussels was continuing to engage with Meta and TikTok as it monitors the situation.
The companies have also outlined measures they are taking to deal with content linked to illegal border crossings and human smuggling.
A Meta spokesperson said a team was "monitoring the situation in Ceuta in real time and removing content that violates our policies - including content that offers to provide, facilitate or seek human smuggling services".
TikTok said it also has strict rules against material that promotes or helps people organise human smuggling or illegal border crossings.
The video-sharing platform said it was working with Newtral, a journalism and fact-checking organisation in Spain, and MapExpress in Morocco. The two organisations are being encouraged to remain alert to misleading information during fast-changing situations.
The EU has not ruled out taking further action if the voluntary measures fail to deal with the spread of harmful information.
The Commission's latest step comes as social media platforms face growing pressure to respond quickly when false claims spread during emergencies, particularly where such information could influence people's actions.
AFP is among several third-party media organisations paid by some online platforms, including Meta, to help tackle disinformation. It is also one of the fact-checking partners working in Spain.