Is the Code of Practice on Disinformation an effective tool to combat it? The issue was a primary focus for political actors, civil society organisations and representatives of digital platforms, meeting in Prague on Wednesday 2 November for a high-level conference on the future of the internet. For Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission, the Code is a “good starting point” if it is part of a broader strategy, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine.
The Code of Practice on Disinformation (see EUROPE 12973/10) is a “strong toolbox”, defended Daniel Braun, her Deputy Head of Cabinet. With the deadline for implementation just 6 weeks away, he pointed to four key areas where platforms need to continue their efforts: - adapt their terms and conditions to better suit war propaganda; - intensify moderation efforts for all European countries and languages; - stop monetising disinformation; - meet their data sharing commitments.
For Věra Jourová, the Code of Practice, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Declaration for the Future of the Internet (see EUROPE 12941/36) are good starting points, but “there should be a broader thinking in tackling disinformation”. In particular, she targeted democratically elected politicians who had “built their political success on lies”. “We, the democrats, have to change the way we communicate […] I believe we will be able to do it better after we have the data through the Code of Practice and the platforms on the situation and impact of disinformation”, she concluded.
The platform representatives present welcomed the Code of Practice. Markus Reinisch of Meta nevertheless stressed the importance of tackling “systems of disinformation”, i.e. the groups behind the misleading content. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)