Leading social media companies have agreed to a new code of conduct to fight fake news on their platforms, after the EU threatened regulation if they did not improve their practices. Google, Facebook and Twitter are among the first to commit to the code, and other online service providers and advertisers are expected to join. European Digital Society Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said she would meet with the companies in the coming weeks to discuss the changes, and the EU will evaluate progress with the code by the end of the year before considering further action.
In April, the European Commission issued a communication calling for a common approach across Europe to fighting disinformation online, including an action plan and proposal for a self-regulatory code. The aim is to have the measures in place before the multiple elections in Europe in 2019.
Signatories to the code agree to implement the measures within one month. These include a 'follow the money' approach to trace ad revenues back to accounts and websites that spread disinformation and disrupt their income sources; increased transparency for internet users on the source of political ads and user controls on which ads they see; tighter controls to take down fake accounts and spam bots; more tools to help users identify and report fake news and increase the profile of authoritative sources; and enabling more scientific research into online disinformation, including access to the necessary user data.
Additional measures specifically for advertisers are also included in an annex to the code.
