The Google logo, ahead of a technology conference in Paris, this Wednesday. Photo: REUTERS
Brussels wanted it to go well, but it didn’t work out. The European Commission announced this Thursday the update of its Code of Practice on Disinformation to begin enforcing, with millionaire sanctions if necessary, that internet platforms take the fight seriously. against disinformation and fake news.
The Code of Good Practices was born in 2018 and all its applications were voluntary. These were companies that agreed to self-regulate to fight fake news. And the responsibility was shared between regulators and technology platforms.
The European Commission believed that it would be enough or at least intended to give companies the opportunity to self-regulate before having to force their hand.
it did not work. In the last five years, since the implementation of this Code of Good Practices, the spread of fake news has continued to grow and the European Commission believes that they are a threat to democracy.
European officials unveiled the new code to combat disinformation on the internet in Brussels on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence
In this new version, the emphasis is also on “deep fakes”. They are pieces of disinformation that transform fake news into something more elaborate but also more pernicious.
Images and videos are manipulated with the help of artificial intelligence to, for example, create a video of a political figure saying something he never said. The technology has advanced in such a way that these videos look totally real.
The update of the Code of good practices against disinformation obliges technology platforms to fight false accounts that impersonate the identity of other people and to eliminate fake news and deep fakes.
The document assures: “Interested signatories will adapt, strengthen and implement clear policies against inadmissible behavior and manipulative practices”.
The Code of Good Practices changes to become more severe because in 2023 the Digital Services Act will come into force, recently approved by the 27 after an agreement with the European Parliament.
Social networks, targeted by the European Union for the dissemination of false news. Photo: AP
Social media in the spotlight
This new rule will regulate the functioning of technological platforms, also in everything that refers to invented news and deep fakes. The Digital Services Act (DSA) targets social networks and in particular websites that have more than 45 million active users in the European Union.
This new rule is the one that will allow sanctions in the event that the European Commission believes that a technological platform (owners of Facebook, Google, Twitter, Tik-Tok or Instagram, among others) is not doing enough to stop the spread of fake news. ..
If so, they could be fined the equivalent of 6% of their global annual income. If they repeat the fines they will multiply and as a last resort they could be expelled from the European market.
The now updated Code of Practice Against Disinformation has been signed by 34 platforms, technology companies and civil society organizations.
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton of France said Thursday that “disinformation is a form of invasion of our digital space that has a tangible impact on our daily life. Online platforms need to act very firmly, especially when it comes to the issue of funding. The spread of disinformation should not earn anyone a single euro “.
Breton argues that “to be credible, the new code will be supported by the Digital Services Act, which includes the imposition of strong dissuasive sanctions.”
Brussels, special
CB
Idafe Martin
Source: Clarin
