Big Tech must deal with disinformation or face fines, says EU

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If large tech companies don't act on deepfakes and fake accounts, they will face huge fines.

A deepfake is a video that uses a person's likeness to portray them doing something they don't do.

Tech firms will be required to deal with forms of misinformation on their platforms under a new EU regulation.

Firms can be fined up to six percent of their global turnover if they don't comply.

The aim of the strengthened code is to prevent profits from fake news on their platforms, as well as increasing transparency around political advertising.

The 33 people who signed the enhanced code worked together to agree on the new rules.

Firms that sign up to the code will have to give more information to the EU and provide initial reports on their implementation by the beginning of 2023.

Every six months, platforms with more than 45 million users will have to report to the Commission.

Combating the spread of mis info is a complex and evolving societal issue.

We continue to invest heavily in teams and technology and look forward to more collaboration to address it.

The company was happy with the updated code, according to a spokesman.

As we continue to evaluate and evolve our approach in this ever-changing environment, we remain committed to tackling misinformation and disinformation.

They did not reply to the request.

When used to target politicians, celebrities and everyday citizens, deepfakes are an emerging form of misinformation.

They have become more associated with pornography in the last few years.

Pornographic deepfakes are the main form of malicious deepfakery today, affecting well-known figures such as Natalie Portman and Emma Watson.

During the Russia-Ukraine war, fake videos of world leaders were shared online.

Vra Jourov, European Commission vice-president for values and transparency, said that the new anti-disinformation Code came at a time when Russia was weaponising misinformation as part of its military aggression against Ukraine.

"We now have very significant commitments to reduce the impact of disinformation online and much more robust tools to measure how these are implemented across the EU in all countries and in all its languages."

According to Ms Schick, the difficulty of telling deepfakes and real footage apart is likely to increase in the future.

The climate of information uncertainty caused by the appearance of deepfakes on online platforms is open to further manipulation.

It is possible that genuine footage could be dismissed as deep fakes.

The challenge for citizens to recognize genuine content and for regulators to take action on them is more difficult now.

The double-edged sword is that anything can be faked and everything can be denied.

In recent years, Big Tech companies have made efforts to detect and counter deepfakes on their platforms.

Ms Schick says platforms often use deepfakes as a fig leaf to cover for not doing enough on existing forms of misinformation.

They aren't the most prevalent forms of misinformation, we have so many existing forms that are already doing more harm.

Under the revised EU code, accounts that are involved in co-ordinated inauthentic behavior, generating fake engagement, impersonation and bot-driven amplification will need to be periodically reviewed by relevant tech firms.

Deepfakes have the ability to become the most potent form of online misinformation.

She says that we need to be on the front foot as technology becomes more and more prevalent.

The EU's planned regulation for illegal content, goods and services online is based on the principle that things which are illegal offline should also be illegal online.

The DSA will apply to all online services that operate in the EU, but with particular focus on what it calls Vlops and Vloses.

The legal tool will be used to support the new code of practice on misinformation.