FACEBOOK, GOOGLE, TWITTER URGED BY EU TO DO MORE IN TACKLING DISINFORMATION
The European Commission on Thursday, September 10, urged Facebook, Alphabet's Google, Twitter and other social media platforms to try harder in tackling disinformation.
The tech rivals in 2018 had agreed to a self-regulatory code of practice to tackle the circulation of false information.
According to the EU, fake news related to COVID-19 has accelerated calls for social media to be more effective in combating the issue.
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The EU said the coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by a massive wave of false or misleading information, including attempts by foreign actors to influence EU citizens and debates.
Mozilla among other trade bodies for the advertising industry had signed up to the code in a bid to curtail disinformation before Microsoft and TikTok subsequently joined the group.
According to the commission, the code was not effective enough after an assessment of its first-year operation, Reuters reports.
"These can be grouped in four broad categories: inconsistent and incomplete application of the code across platforms and member states, lack of uniform definitions, the existence of several gaps in the coverage of the code commitments, and limitations intrinsic to the self-regulatory nature of the code," the report said.
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The Commission Vice President for values and transparency, Vera Jourova, called for more action to counter new risks.
"As we also witness new threats and actors the time is ripe to go further and propose new measures. The platforms need to become more accountable and transparent. They need to open up and provide better access to data, among others," Jourova said.
Jourova is currently working on a European Democracy Action Plan to make democracy more resilient to digital threats.
The Commission and the High Representative in June started assessing their steps to fight disinformation around the Coronavirus pandemic and are proposing a way forward.
This follows the tasking by European leaders in March to resolutely counter disinformation and reinforce the resilience of European societies.
The Commission is also set to propose new rules called the Digital Services Act by the end of the year which will increase social media's responsibilities and liability for content on their platforms.
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