On Friday 21 February, the European Commission published a “toolbox” on the enforcement of the Digital Services Act during election periods, with a view to helping national coordinators ensure that national elections are held properly.
This “toolbox” is intended to provide tested and approved solutions to mitigate online risks, within “very large online platforms” and “very large online search engines”, associated with hate speech, online harassment and the manipulation of public opinion, as well as the distribution and use of content generated by artificial intelligence.
The aim of the Commission’s initiative is to step up “efforts [...] to protect the integrity of electoral processes in the European Union”.
Since the problems linked to foreign interference during the elections in Romania (see EUROPE 13547/15), Europe has stepped up its efforts to combat disinformation during election periods.
Twelve countries recently sent a letter to the Commission, asking it to take action against “interference in the elections” of third countries. Germany, which will hold parliamentary elections on Sunday 23 February, is one of the signatories (see EUROPE 13570/8).
The “electoral toolbox” is based, among other things, on the electoral guidelines dedicated to platforms and search engines, published in March 2024 (see EUROPE 13379/7), as well as on feedback from the implementation of the code of practice on disinformation and the roundtables organised with the digital giants.
See the “toolbox”: https://aeur.eu/f/fls (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)