Europe pushes social media companies to deal with scams

The European Commission and its members have told social media platforms to find ways to do two things:

• Update their terms of service to comply with European Union law
• Work to remove scams posted on their platforms

The push comes after the regulators met with major companies.

Why it matters: Questions of how to regulate social media platforms have been front and center because of the continued reality of online harassment and an election marked in part by hoax news stories. Some in Europe have been more forceful in pushing platforms on these issues than regulators in the United States.

What's next: Companies have a month to respond with their final plans or face possible fines.