(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc.’s social media platforms Facebook and Instagram are under investigation from the European Union amid concerns they’re failing to cull targeted disinformation peddled by Russia that aims to sow discord on the continent. 

The probe targets the so-called Doppelganger campaign — a pro-Kremlin operation, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

The campaign attempts to replicate the appearance of traditional news sources while churning out content that is favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policies, the people said.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said in a statement that the probe, under its flagship Digital Services Act, will examine Meta’s policies and practices relating to deceptive advertising and political content on its services, in the run up to the June European elections. It didn’t mention Russia specifically.

The DSA gives regulators new powers to take action against major tech companies for how they handle content on their platforms. Meta will be given five working days to respond to the EU’s concerns, before regulators escalate the procedure.

Under the rules, tech giants must place curbs on the spread of dangerous content or face hefty penalties, as much as 6% of global revenue in certain cases. 

“This commission has created means to protect European citizens from targeted disinformation and manipulation by third countries,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said in the statement. 

Regulators also said they are examining Meta’s policies and practices relating to giving researchers access to election-monitoring tools, particularly in the context of Meta’s “deprecation” of its real-time public insights tool CrowdTangle, without an adequate replacement. 

A Meta spokesperson said that the company has a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks across their services, in response to the announcement.

The bloc’s move comes after France’s European affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned that a Russian-orchestrated disinformation campaign is seeking to destabilize public opinion ahead of the June ballot. Barrot revealed that twenty-five of the EU’s 27 member states have been targeted in recent months, spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda.   

Read More: Musk Gets EU Warning to Keep Putin Propaganda Off Twitter

The latest investigation follows a similar probe under the DSA launched last year into how Elon Musk’s X handles illegal content and disinformation, particularly with regards to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. 

(Updates with Meta comment in seventh paragraph.)

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