The European Commission invited, on Thursday 3 June, online platforms that are signatories to its Code of Practice on Disinformation to continue to report, until the end of the year, on how they are limiting Covid-19 disinformation (see EUROPE 12503/1).
Since September, the platforms have been providing the Commission with monthly reports in this regard. This monitoring programme, which has already been extended once, was due to end with the June reports.
Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová justified the extension by referring to the “amount of dangerous lies” still in circulation. She also said that this will contribute to the implementation of the “new generation Code against disinformation” (see EUROPE 12727/12).
In addition, the Commission considers it essential that, as the vaccination campaign progresses, “reluctance to vaccinate is not fuelled by damaging disinformation” (see EUROPE 12621/26).
After the conclusion of the current phase of the programme, a next round of reports will be submitted in September, the institution says.
It also indicates that the reporting will then be changed to twice a month. Their quality, however, still leaves something to be desired. The Commission continues, after receiving the seventh and final round of reports, to call for more detailed data.
To view this series on the measures taken in April: https://bit.ly/3g68AKQ (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)