08:01 AM EDT, 08/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Adds statement from Meta in fifth and sixth paragraphs.)

Meta Platforms ( META ) was asked by the European Commission to provide information about measures it has taken to give researchers access to publicly available data and plans to update its civic discourse and election monitoring tools, the Commission said Friday.

The Commission said it sent a request for information, or RFI, to Meta under the Digital Services Act after CrowdTangle, which had allowed third party civic discourse and election monitoring, was discontinued Wednesday.

The Commission said it requested Meta to provide the information by Sept. 6.

Based on Meta's reply, the Commission said it will decide on the next steps, which may include interim measures and non-compliance decisions.

A Meta spokesperson told MT Newswires in an emailed statement that the company discontinued CrowdTangle because "it did not provide a complete picture of what is happening on our platforms." The company has since replaced it with the Meta Content Library & API, a "more comprehensive" tool for researchers, the spokesperson said.

"We remain in discussion with the European Commission on this matter," the Meta spokesperson said.