The European Union is stepping up its efforts to fight fake news on social media ahead of parliamentary elections next May. The European Commission unveiled an Action Plan to help the 28 member states counter disinformation, including a 'rapid alert' system to share information and coordinated responses among EU states and increased funding for detecting disinformation campaigns and supporting journalism and media literacy. The Commission said it is also monitoring closely the implementation of a code of conduct agreed with social media sites earlier this year and will take further legislative action if it does not see sufficient progress in taking down hate speech and disinformation.
The Action Plan focuses on four areas the Commission sees as key to effectively build up the EU's capabilities and strengthen cooperation between member states: improved detection; coordinated response; online platforms and industry; and raising awareness and empowering citizens. The European Commission said it will develop and implement the measures set out in the Action Plan, in close cooperation with national governments and the European Parliament.
In 2015 already, the East Stratcom Task Force was created in the European External Action Service (EEAS) in response to signs of increased Russian disinformation campaigns. It has studied the techniques and intentions of disinformation by Russian sources and worked on improving EU communications to counter the Russian campaigns, particularly in the east of the EU. The EEAS' strategic communication budget to address disinformation and raise awareness about its adverse impact is expected to more than double under the Action Plan, from EUR 1.9 million in 2018 to EUR 5 million in 2019. This will also be accompanied by a reinforcement of staff, with 50-55 more people added in the next two years.
In addition, in its proposal for the Horizon Europe R&D programme in 2021-2027, the Commission has foreseen funding for the development of new tools to combat online disinformation; to better understand the role of journalistic standards and user-generated content; and to support next-generation internet applications and services including immersive and trustworthy media, social media and social networking. So far around EUR 40 million have been invested in EU projects in the area.The Commission also proposed a dedicated budget of EUR 61 million under the next Creative Europe programme to support journalism, media freedom, media pluralism and media literacy.
The Commission will ask social media sites for up-to-date information about measures taken towards the implementation of the self-regulatory code by the end of 2018 and will publish this information in January 2019. Beginning in January, platforms should provide complete information, including by replying to Commission's specific requests, on how are they are implementing the commitments on a monthly basis. In the autumn, the Commission will carry out a targeted monitoring of the implementation of the Code on a monthly basis, working together with national media regulators.
Social media sites are also expected to work together with a planned network of independent fact-checkers in the EU. The Commission has proposed initial funding of EUR 2.5 million under the Connected Europe Facility to set up an online platform with tools for fact-checkers. The fact-checking community will define the prerequisites for membership in the coming months, and their network will be editorially independent. The EU-backed platform will encourage cross-border data collection, provide analysis tools and access to EU-wide data and support cooperation between the fact-checking community and academics working on the problem of online disinformation.
