The EU has called for social media companies to provide monthly reports in the fight against fake news as reported by Reuters. This comes amidst Twitter’s ongoing fight with Trump over fact-checking and free speech. These calls highlight the concerns felt by the EU about the ongoing spread of misinformation around the globe.
Head of EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, and European Commission’s Vice President for values and transparency Vera Jourova made these comments. They mainly focused on calling out China and Russia for their spread of fake news across the globe.
Social media companies to tackle fake news
Social media companies have been beginning to lead the fight against fake news. Facebook, for example, has stepped up its efforts before the 2020 elections.
However, the fact that the EU has stepped in demonstrates how much more needs to be done. It also shows the level of concern that is being felt.
Jourova called for Chinese-owned social media TikTok brand bloc’s voluntary code of conduct to combat misinformation. Overall the EU has plans to step-up its strategy to combat fake news. This will take the form of providing more support to independent and free media in terms of fact-checking and research.
The commission recommended that online platforms should provide monthly reports on misinformation. This would detail their actions to combat the spread of fake news and to promote correct content.
The idea behind this is to share information across companies. This would mean that with this greater sharing of information should emerge a more sophisticated strategy against fake news.
Vaccination the next fight for fake news
Jourova suggested that the next big fight against misinformation is likely to be surrounding the topic of vaccinations.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging and the race for a vaccine intensifying the need for it to be administered widely when available is of great importance.
Jourova pointed out that in the last two months Germans’ willingness to be vaccinated has fallen by 20%. She told a press conference, “It can negatively impact the economy and undermine the response of the public authorities and therefore weaken the health measures”.
Fake news and misinformation is clearly one of the most important battles in the online world. The EU involving itself is significant as it underlines the importance of the topic.
It also adds an authoritative and collaborative element to what has to now been a rather individual scatter gun approach. Hopefully, this collaborative approach will lead to more fruitful results in the future.