The European Union strengthens its policies against disinformation: what it consists of

The European Commission presented this Thursday a new code of practice which makes use of the support of various digital platforms to intensify the fight against disinformation from social networks.

Among the platforms that have signed their adhesion to the new code, giants such as Meta, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, Vimeo or TikTok stand out, as well as entities such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) or Avaaz.

The signature platforms themselves participated in the drafting of the text, which contains about forty commitments – double the previous code, of 2018- and indicators to measure compliance.

“I think it is truly a powerful package of new measures which comes at a time when Russia is using this information as a weapon (…) and also when we are seeing attacks on democracy in general, and it is time to act, “said Vera Jourova, Vice President of the European Commission.

For his part, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, stressed that this is “a sensitive issue (…) because it has an impact on our daily life”, and also because “it refers to ours fundamental values ​​”.

The previous code was based solely on self-regulation, with results deemed insufficient by the European Commission.

This time, adherence to the code remains voluntary, but for “very large platforms” (reaching 45 million users in the EU) it helps to comply with the obligations under the Digital Services Act (known by its acronym in English, DSA).

The DSA, which is in the process of being adopted, requires these platforms to make efforts to “reduce the risk” of disinformation and provides for penalties of up to 6% of their global turnover.

One of the key commitments is end disinformation revenue, as they feed the vicious circle between disinformation and platforms.

The announcements, part of the deal

Ad serving platforms such as Alphabet, the parent of Google, are committed to blocking ads with conspiracy content and verifying where they come from.

They also pledge to actively counter ads that contain misinformation.

Code signers must provide users with the tools to identify and report false information or misleading and should cooperate more closely with fact-checkers in all EU languages.

Verifiers also get additional support, notably by having access to aggregated and anonymous data.

Unlike illegal content, disinformation will not be subject to immediate removal in principle of freedom of expression.

Rather, it would induce users to turn to reliable sources of information, particularly those that meet the standards set by the Trust in Journalism Initiative, of which RSF and AFP are partners.

The platforms also strive to make political advertising more transparent by clearly identifying it as such and allowing users know why they were targeted.