In recent years, several governments have been attentive to the fight against disinformation, where we have already seen countries like Turkey will criminalize disinformation on social media, where some platforms like Twitter, already contains a tool that fights misinformation.
The technology companies that operate some of the world's largest online platforms - including Meta, Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Twitch and TikTok, owners of Facebook – signed a new book of EU rules to combat misinformation online. These companies and others will have to make greater efforts to stop the spread of fake news and propaganda on their platforms, as well as share more granular data about their work with EU member states.
In announcing the new "Code of Practice on Disinformation", the European Commission said the guidelines were particularly shaped by "lessons learned from the COVID19 crisis and Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine".
The code itself contains 44 company-specific “commitments” that address a range of potential harms from misinformation. These include appointments to:
- create searchable libraries for political ads;
- demonetize fake news sites by removing their advertising revenue;
- reduce the number of networks bots and fake accounts used to spread misinformation;
- give users tools to flag misinformation and access “authoritative sources”;
- give researchers “better and broader access to platform data”;
- work closely with independent fact-checkers to verify sources of information.
BUT: How to spot fake news on the internet
Many US tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter have already taken similar steps after pressure from politicians and regulators, but the EU says its new code of practice will allow for greater oversight of these operations and stronger enforcement.
