Disinformation crackdown: Tech giants commit to EU code of practice
By Samuel Stolton | EURACTIV.com
[EPA/DANIEL DEME]
A group of tech giants including Google, Facebook and Mozilla have agreed to abide by landmark new standards set out by the European Commission in the battle against the dissemination of fake news across the EU.
Signatories have committed to a new code of practice in an attempt to fight disinformation online in the all-important run-up to the European elections next year.
"This is the first time that the industry has agreed on a set of self-regulatory standards to fight disinformation worldwide, on a voluntary basis," Digital Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said on Wednesday (26 September).
"The industry is committing to a wide range of actions, from transparency in political advertising to the closure of fake accounts and demonetisation of purveyors of disinformation."
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The code of practice covers five areas of competence, with the commitment to disrupt advertising revenues from companies that spread disinformation, tackle fake accounts and online bots, make political advertising more transparent, allow users to report instances of disinformation more easily, and provide better frameworks to monitor the spread of disinformation.
The move follows an action plan put forward by the Commission in April, which introduced the idea of platforms to implement self-regulatory tools to tackle the spread and impact of online disinformation in Europe.
However, Wednesday's plans have been heavily criticised by a 'multistakeholder forum on disinformation', comprising representatives of the media and civil society.
Their criticism observes that the code includes "no common approach, no meaningful commitments, no measurable objectives or KPIs, no compliance or enforcement tools and hence no possibility to monitor the implementation process".
There has been deep concern across the continent after alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election in the US as well during the Brexit campaign.
Estonia's State Information Authority, widely believed to be the EU's frontrunner in the field of cybersecurity, has recently released a report that highlighted the risk of malicious influence during next year's European elections.
Moreover, as EURACTIV reported, evidence surfaced recently as to Russia's disinformation campaign attempting to interfere with Macedonia's name change referendum on 30 September.
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The commission expects an initial review of compliance with the new codes before the end of the year.
"Online platforms need to act as responsible social players, especially in this crucial period ahead of elections," Gabriel said.
"They must do their utmost to stop the spread of disinformation."
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One response to "Disinformation crackdown: Tech giants commit to EU code of practice"
FP3 says:
This is another deeply concerning news in an even more deeply concerning trend in the West. Who is to determine what is fake news/disinformation and what is not ? On what basis ? And in who's interest ?
Transparency on political ads is totally fair, but the suppression of 'alternative voices', as some would call them, or the tagging of news as fake by internet users is as dangerous to democracy as is the supposed disinformation they are trying to counter.
Democratic spirit and philosophy teaches us that democracy can only survive by defending EACH and EVERY opinion out there and the right for EVERYONE to express it's own opinion. What some call fake news or disinformation should only be combated through organized debate, reasoning and the exchange of verifiable facts. This requires critical thinking and a certain amount of knowledge of how the world of men and nature work.
What these standards imply is that citizens of the EU lack this general culture and the critical thinking necessary to make an enlightened opinion for themselves, and that corporations or governments should thus do it for them. If this is true, then serious questions and reforms should be made to our education systems and on how we prepare our children for the reality of this world.
Let us never forget that, in his time, Galileo Galilei was fake news and disinformation. Yet he turned out to be right and masses and governing bodies were wrong. No individual or group of individuals, no corporation or government, not even the supposed representative of God on earth can pretend to hold the truth, as history demonstrates.