The Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, presented, on Tuesday 26 September, the second edition of the reports from online platforms that have signed up to the Code of Practice on Disinformation (see EUROPE 13193/29). The documents, which the 44 signatories have undertaken to publish every 6 months, show that attempts at disinformation are on the increase, against the backdrop of Russia’s war of invasion in Ukraine and the forthcoming European elections.
“With increasing digitalisation, malicious actors have gained new ways to try to undermine our democracies. [One has] to be aware of the context; Russian war against Ukraine, and the upcoming EU elections next year, are particularly relevant, because the risk of disinformation is particularly serious. The Russian state has engaged in the war of ideas to pollute our information space. The very large platforms must address this risk”, said Ms Jourová.
In detail, the digital giant Google says, for example, that it has prevented more than €31 million worth of advertising from reaching disinformation outlets in the EU. Some 141,823 advertisements failed the US company’s tests to verify the identity of the broadcaster, and more than 300 sites had their adverts from Russia removed.
Microsoft, for its part, has blocked or restricted the registration of more than 6.7 million fake accounts on LinkedIn, while TikTok has removed 140,635 videos - accumulating more than a billion views - that did not comply with its disinformation policies.
With regard to the war in Ukraine, YouTube has shut down 411 channels and 10 blogs of people involved in coordinated influence operations linked to the Russian-sponsored Internet Research Agency (IRA).
“The main theme is to combat the Russian rhetoric that legitimises the right to invade Ukraine, a narrative that has dominated since the start of the war in Crimea”, explained the Commissioner for Values and Transparency.
“It’s also frequently addressed against migrants and refugees, the Green Deal too, the EU allegedly causing harm by introducing measures against cars, LGBT minorities, with unbelievable stories”, she added.
For Ms Jourová, the DSA should push X to comply with the rules
Vice-President Jourová also discussed the decision by X (formerly Twitter), following its takeover by American billionaire Elon Musk (see EUROPE 13194/4), to leave the Code of Practice on Disinformation. On this point, the Vice-President sought to reassure, saying that the application of the DSA (see EUROPE 13244/4) would force the company to comply with EU rules.
“Mr Musk knows he is not off the hook by leaving the code of practice. We have the DSA, it will be applied, and a Commission unit will monitor the platforms. X, as a major online platform, has obligations under the law. My message is: You have to comply, we will be watching what you do”, she warned.
As the interinstitutional negotiations on the subject continue, the question of the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) (see EUROPE 13253/4), when it comes to disinformation, takes centre stage. Following the presentation of the reports, Věra Jourová met representatives of OpenAI in Brussels.
“Discussions with Open AI will allow us to see how they feel, and also how to label (see EUROPE 13194/3) ‘AI’ information. Users need to know that this is the work of a machine, not a brain. We would like more signatories, it’s no longer just a question of social responsibility or making a good impression”, concluded the Vice-President of the European Commission.
To see the reports: https://aeur.eu/f/8r3 (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)