Big tech companies with online platforms have agreed to comply with new EU rules to combat online disinformation.

The document has been signed by Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, Vimeo and others. Companies will have to do more to prevent the spread of fake news and propaganda on their platforms. They also undertake to share more details about their work with EU member states.

According to the European Commission, the rules took into account “lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis and Russia’s offensive war in Ukraine”, among other things.

“The new Disinformation Law comes at a time when Russia is using disinformation as a weapon as part of its military aggression against Ukraine and we see attacks on democracy more broadly,” said Vera, Vice Chairman of the Values ​​and Transparency Commission. Yurova.

The document contains 44 specific “commitments” for companies. Between them:

• create searchable political ad libraries;
• monetization to deprive fake news sites of ad revenue;
• reduce the number of botnets and fake accounts used to spread disinformation;
• provide users with tools to flag disinformation and access “authoritative sources”;
• provide researchers with “better and broader access to platform data”;
• Working closely with independent verifiers to verify sources of information.

Many US tech companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, have taken similar initiatives under pressure from politicians and regulators. However, the EU argues that the new set of rules will increase oversight of these operations and strengthen law enforcement.

Unlike the previous version of the document, the new rules are mandatory. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, said they will be implemented in line with the new EU Digital Services Act (DSA):

Large platforms that repeatedly break the rules and do not take adequate risk mitigation measures can face fines of up to 6% of their global turnover.”

Despite the scale of the initiative, some companies did not agree with the updated document. For example, despite its growing advertising business, Apple did not sign the Code. Telegram, which has become a major propaganda battleground since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is also not on the list.

Recall that in June, tech giants tentatively agreed to join the EU initiative to combat deep frauds, disinformation and fake accounts.

In April, the European Union agreed on a Digital Services Act that increases the responsibility of big tech companies for recommendation algorithms and targeted advertising.