The European Commission has just taken the wraps off a beefed up industry code of practice for tackling online misinformation across the EU.
Signatories to the Code have agreed to a number of commitments and to undertake specific measures.
The Code of Practice on Disinformation, which applies from now but allows for a six-month implementation period, is being billed as a stronger replacement for the self-regulatory regime it supersedes.
EU lawmakers have become more concerned about the harms associated with online misinformation due to the coronaviruses epidemic.
Tough measures against Kremlin propaganda channels have been adopted by the bloc, including banning Russia Today and Sputnik earlier this year.
The self-regulatory regime was found to be failing to deliver enough transparency or accountability from the platforms and advertisers signed up to it. The Commission said that it was working on a new Code in May 2021.
The new Code doubled the number of people who signed it. A far broader mix of players, including industry associations, online adverting entities, and fact checkers, make up these companies.
There are some significant gaps. Apple is yet to sign up. In its marketplace guise, Amazon isn't. Telegram isn't showing up for now. The parent company of Facebook Messenger and other platforms is called Meta and it is an expansion of its involvement.
The Commission is hoping that the list keeps growing because the new Code is still open to sign up. Commissioner Vera Jourov said that the more the better.
The Commission is hopeful that the new approach will set up the mechanism to be more comprehensive in tackling online disinformation, and thus more successful at addressing the plethora of threats posed by a type of online content.
When the original Code was unveiled, the EU's first attempt at responding to the threat of disinformation looked far too broad-brush to have a meaningful impact on a fast-scale problem.
The fight against misinformation has to be a bottom up approach according to Jourov. The code is the work of the people who signed it.
The main focus areas for the EU's new disinformation Code are demonetization and transparency.
There will be a new transparency center set up to support the implementation and monitor operation of the Code, as well as a permanent task force which the Commission said will be focused on making suggestions for improvements and new requirements.
The EU needs to take tougher measures to make sure democratic processes are protected, according to Jourov.
Thanks to the new Code we have created an environment of collaboration with constant monitoring in the wake of new threats and new evidence.
The new Code would finally give meaningful data for measuring platforms' performance across all EU countries and languages, which has been a major gap in earlier reporting rounds.
While it is not mandatory for companies to sign up to the Code, the EU is linking being on board with the DSA regulation to become a "mitigation measure"
It gives the industry Code teeth, since the DSA bakes in a regime of major penalties (of up to 6% of global annual turnover) forinfringements, providing an incentive for companies to align with the Code's measures as part of their broader EU digital
The Commission expects that the Code of Practice will become a central plank of DSA compliance for platforms.
Today marks a departure from self regulation only. The Digital Services Act will be used to enforce the Code.
The link of the Code to compliance with the DSA may be an effective way of encouraging compliance for smaller entities. Smaller adtech entities, which may still play an outsized role in the distribution of disinformation by providing tools for targeting, as well as providing the conduits for creators of disinformation to monetize their nonsense, may not be classified as so.
The Commission appears to be relying on reputational pressure being brought to bear on non-VLOP signatories via an ongoing implementation reporting and monitoring structure that is based on key performance indicators.
The Code requires signatories to report how they have implemented the measures and commitments. The first batches of these reports will be released in January.
Tech giants were chided by EU Commissioners that they must do better after the Commission implemented a reporting structure related to COVID-19. It's not clear if a similar reporting structure attached to the Code will deliver meaningful process changes from the adtech industry.
A full ban on tracking-based ad targeting, which relies upon data-mining and profiling individuals to serve behavioral advertising that is tailored to their particular interests and views, could be a more effective tool against online misinformation.
The EU is taking steps to limit how tracking-based advertised can be used as a tool for manipulation because the incoming DSA includes a ban on the use of minor's data for targeted advertising.
The IAB Europe's transparency and consent framework tool was found to be in violation of European Union data protection laws.
The Commission emphasized at today's press conference that the Code is not the only tool or strategy to combat disinformation, which can also happen offline, via traditional media channels or from the mouths of elected politicians.
The EU's executive will focus on addressing related issues, like transparency of media ownership and ensuring Europe's press remains free from foreign or government influence, when asked about these wider concerns.
Media literacy and education for children, to help kids learn critical thinking around information, is one of the focuses for the EU, as is stepping up communications to fill gaps that malicious conspiracy theories may be seeking to exploit.
She said she hoped for a return to higher moral standards of conduct for elected officials. Maybe we should return to that.
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