EU to demand tougher pledges from tech giants over fake news
Tech giants such as Facebook and Google will be forced to make firmer pledges to crack down on misinformation on their platforms on new rules being prepared by the EU.
The European Commission is planning to hold social media firms more responsible for curbing the money they make through advertising placed next to false information.
The bloc also wants smaller social media or search sites and other services such as private messaging apps, ecommerce platforms and crowdfunding sites to make the same commitments, according to a document seen by Reuters.
It forms part of efforts by the EU to address failings in a voluntary code of practice on disinformation introduced in 2018, to which Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and Tiktok have signed up.
“One area, in particular, where the Code has failed to achieve sufficient progress is in the demonetisation of disinformation, where online advertisements still continue to incentivise the dissemination of disinformation,” the document said.
The EU wants platforms to tighten eligibility requirements and content review processes to ensure people or groups that systematically post disinformation cannot generate ad revenue.
Ad tech companies will also be held responsible for verifying where adverts are placed online.
In addition, the document outlined proposals to make platforms clearly label political and issue-based ads to make sure users know they have been paid for.
Tech firms will have until the end of September to come up with draft new commitments, while the EU will present the updated code on 26 May.
The proposed tightening of rules comes after the UK’s new online safety bill was confirmed in the Queen’s Speech last week.
The new laws, which will come in front of parliament in the coming months, will hand down hefty fines to tech companies if they fail to stamp out harmful material such as abuse, terrorist content and misinformation.