I am writing in response to the editorial titled ‘When Facebook and X become the gatekeepers’ and Bertrand Borg’s opinion piece, ‘Facebook thinks I’m an extremist’. As an active marketing practitioner, I’d like to offer an additional perspective on this pertinent issue.

While journalists and news media are rightly raising concerns about the growing influence of very large online platforms and their control over the flow of news, the situation is equally dire for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

These businesses continue to face the unpredictable and often damaging consequences of algorithmic decisions made by platforms like Facebook, despite the enactment of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act within the EU.

Consider the case of a Maltese entrepreneur who relies on Facebook advertising to attract clients. With the majority of their target audience shifting to social media, these entrepreneurs often have no choice but to depend on Meta as their primary, and, sometimes, only, cost-effective advertising platform. But what happens when their account is suddenly banned for no apparent reason?

Despite being a paying advertiser, contacting Meta’s customer support is virtually impossible. With neither the time nor resources to pursue legal action, the only option left for the business person is to create a new profile. This risks violating Meta’s own terms of service and could lead to a permanent ban, further punishing the SME.

It’s a lose-lose situation, not only for media outlets, which are vital to our democracy, but also for businesses, which are the backbone of our economy.

Now, if all of Malta’s businesses were to stop advertising on Facebook tomorrow, Meta would likely not even notice the dip in their revenue. However, at the EU level, home to over 450 million people with some 23 million SMEs employing 77.5 million workers, the impact would be far more significant.

Just last month, Meta announced a 40% reduction in subscription prices for EU users who wish to avoid seeing ads in their feeds. This was the second time this year that EU regulation forced Meta to make significant changes to its business model, and it is we – all EU consumers – who are benefitting from these changes.

At the same time, to maintain advertising revenue, Meta announced the introduction of unskippable ad breaks, requiring users to watch ads for several seconds before accessing the content they want.

I am still at a loss as to why Meta did not take any action to stop it much sooner- Pierre Mizzi

This model echoes traditional TV ad breaks, which we’ve been accustomed to for decades. However, the key difference is that digital platforms like Facebook actively manipulate content to keep users engaged, making it far more difficult to resist their constant pull.

Suggesting an outright Facebook advertising boycott across the entire EU is, of course, unrealistic. What we need instead is stronger, more swiftly implemented legislation to rebalance the excessive power of these platforms. A basic minimum service charter could be enforced on them and some form of reasonable redress in case of technical restrictions, that is easily accessible to small enterprises, could go a long way to improve matters.

Moreover, the rise of fake news targeting businesses and public figures exacerbates these problems. Earlier this year, I spent considerable time working to stop a fake news campaign promoting a scam investment website on Meta’s platforms.

Despite my best efforts using all channels at our disposal, I received no satisfactory response from the platform.

The advertiser only stopped targeting Malta with their campaign when the Malta Financial Services Authority issued a public warning.

Shockingly, this campaign leveraged the credibility of two popular Maltese news portals and various local prominent entrepreneurs and I am still at a loss as to why Meta did not take any action to stop it much sooner.

In conclusion, while the European Media Freedom Act, which becomes effective in August 2025, may offer some hope for addressing the imbalances created by these dominant platforms, we cannot ignore the equally pressing challenges faced by entrepreneurs in this digital ecosystem.

We need practical solutions that are accessible to SMEs in Malta and across the EU.

It is time for a more comprehensive and coordinated approach that holds these platforms accountable, not just for controlling the flow of news but for their broader impact on small businesses and the integrity of online spaces.

Pierre Mizzi is an independent marketing consultant specialised in digital media.