MEPs debated, during the evening of Wednesday 18 October, the fight against disinformation and the dissemination of illegal content in the context of the Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 13271/13) and in times of conflict. Some MEPs took the opportunity to call on the Commission to take a tough stance against the very large online platforms.
“Large companies have a responsibility to combat disinformation. In the European Parliament, we have played our part. Now it’s up to the platforms to assume their responsibilities, otherwise there will be sanctions. The Commission must be firm and enforce the text without further delay”, said former DSA rapporteur Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Denmark).
“The DSA must be applied and must not be a paper tiger. As the European Parliament, we must ensure that it is applied in full. We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated”, insisted the former rapporteur for the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Andreas Schwab (EPP, German).
In addition to calling on the Commission to take a firm stance, some MEPs insisted that the platforms themselves should react and take responsibility for the content they host.
“The risk of radicalisation and polarisation is real. With the DSA, we have the tools to put an end to the Wild West online, and we need to use them. If they don’t want to have blood on their hands, the CEOs of X (formerly Twitter), Meta, TikTok and YouTube must act”, said Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Renew Europe, French).
The Commission, for its part, pointed out that work was continuing with the major platforms to stem the increased flow of illegal content online. Several letters have already been sent to X, Meta, TikTok, Alphabet and YouTube to ask them what measures have been put in place to stop the dissemination of illegal content and disinformation online (see other news) (see EUROPE 13271/13).
The latest elections in Slovakia were a real-life test of the measures implemented by the major digital players. “Measures have been put in place, but I have to say that we have not been entirely satisfied with them”, commented the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton.
Other MEPs, such as Alexandra Geese (Greens/EFA, German), also stressed the need to find effective solutions before the European elections in 2024.
“The platforms make a lot of money from this content. (...) For the platforms, it’s profit; for democracy, it’s poison. We need to change the mechanisms to give facts a chance. We need to protect the 2024 elections”, she said. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)