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Misinformation: EU calls on internet giants to do more and supports Twitter against Trump

2020-06-11T13:22:30.043Z


The EU will notably ask the platforms to publish a monthly report on the actions taken to combat disinformation linked to Covid-19, said the European Commission.


The European Union on Wednesday called on internet giants to do more to fight the " huge wave of disinformation " sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, and supported Twitter in its battle against Trump.

Read also: Twitter deactivates Trump team video over copyright issue

The EU will ask these platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Google ...) to publish a monthly report on the actions taken to combat disinformation linked to Covid-19, announced the Vice-President of the Commission in charge values ​​and transparency, Vera Jourova, at a press conference alongside the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.

"Trust"

Vera Jourova " praised " the measures already taken by the Internet giants, but considered that they " should do more ", by presenting a plan to fight against disinformation.

Platform reports should focus on the nature of the disinformation, the size of the network involved, its geopolitical origin and the target audience, she said. The approach is based on the goodwill of the platforms, but it is in their interest to arouse " user confidence ". The pandemic has already led the EU to ask platforms to put forward information from health authorities like the WHO, and to withdraw advertisements for fake medicines in particular.

Google has blocked or removed more than 80 million ads related to the coronavirus, recalled Vera Jourova, who also welcomed in April the initiatives announced by Facebook and Twitter to try to curb the contagion of infox.

In 2018, these giants of the net committed themselves, as part of a " code of good practice " launched by the European executive, to act against the dissemination of false information. A code that the social network TikTok, whose popularity has exploded with containment, will soon join, announced Vera Jourova.

The head of Google Europe, Matt Brittin, reaffirmed the attachment of the American giant to this code and to " work together to find new creative ways to continue the fight against disinformation ".

"Pluralism"

The Czech commissioner praised the attitude of Twitter, in open conflict with the American president, a big user of the social network.

Twitter has posted " check the facts " warnings on several Donald Trump messages and masked another on the Minneapolis clashes to signal an " apology for violence ." An attitude distinct from that of Facebook which decided not to report or censor in any way whatsoever the messages of the American president.

" I support Twitter's reaction to President Trump's tweets ," said Vera Jourova, noting that the messages in question had not been deleted. The social network has " provided verified information ". " This is what I call pluralism, " she said. " We politicians should especially accept this confrontation, " she said.

The measures presented Wednesday are in line with the " Action Plan for European Democracy " and the " Digital Services Act ", intended to better regulate the tech giants, which are to be presented at the end of the year by the European executive.

In its report, the EU notably accuses Russia and China of having, on the occasion of the pandemic, conducted disinformation campaigns in the EU and around the world. " The pandemic has shown us that disinformation does not only harm our democracies, it also harms the health of our citizens, " said Vera Jourova. " We do not have the power to stop it, we have the power to give citizens an alternative, a verification, to compare what is said with reality, " said Josep Borrell.

In the fight against disinformation, the Commission intends to promote research and fact-checking activities , in particular through the new European Observatory for digital media. This observatory, operational since the beginning of the month, is headed by the European University Institute in Florence (Italy) and brings together the Athens Technology Center, the University of Aarhus (Denmark) and the fact-checking organization Italian Pagella Politica.

The Commission will launch within the month " a tender for 9 million euros for research centers in different Member States ", in order to create " competition in freedom of speech ", said Vera Jourova.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-06-11

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