Speaking on Thursday 4 June at a Renew Europe online conference on the phenomenon of 'infodemic' (see EUROPE 12451/19), the Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, called on online platforms to do more in the fight against disinformation.
In her view, the recent implementation of numerous measures to counter the proliferation of false news related to the Covid-19 pandemic (see EUROPE 12455/19) will not suffice.
"I want the platforms to become more responsible," Jourová said, highlighting that the current crisis was "just a reminder about the huge problem of misinformation and disinformation".
Support for Twitter. The Vice-President in fact expressed support for "Twitter's actions to implement transparent and consistent moderation policy". Last week, the social network labelled two tweets from US President Donald Trump with a 'Fact Check Label' and then hid a third tweet for 'Glorifying Violence'.
Platforms, however, cannot be the only ones to act, Jourová qualified, calling for more support for "free and independent media", more cooperation among the EU-27 and greater involvement of civil society.
Welcoming the plan for a tax on digital services (see EUROPE 12495/23), she also provided assurances that part of the revenue generated would be invested in education and awareness raising. "It is bad to produce lies but it is also bad that so many people have a tendency to believe these lies", she said.
Societal problem. Croatian journalist Ana Brakus, a member of the international fact-checking network CoronaVirusFacts Alliance, who also attended the conference, said that disinformation could not be solved at the individual level.
"Disinformation and misinformation and its negative affect can not be solved without considering the level of mistrust in political institutions and the fact that misinformation content is created in a way which is easily consumable, available and sharable", she emphasised, calling on the EU and the EU27 to do more.
Communication to come. Finally, Ms Jourová took the opportunity of this conference to detail the content of the Commission communication expected next week (see EUROPE 12498/11).
This communication should propose additional actions to better protect European citizens against disinformation campaigns, detail ways as to "how the basis of reliable information can be strengthened" in the EU and abroad, and provide more support to competent authorities, fact checkers and researchers.
Once again, the Commissioner also promised a presentation of the Digital Services Act and the European Action Plan for Democracy "by the end of the year". (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)