EU urges Facebook, Google, Twitter to be more effective against fake news

The European Commission (EU) on Thursday urged Facebook, Alphabet’s Google, Twitter, and other tech rivals to try harder to be more effective against fake news.

Fake news related to COVID-19 has accelerated calls for social media to be more proactive in combating the issue.

The companies signed up to the code in 2018 in a bid to stave off more heavy-handed regulation. Microsoft and TikTok subsequently joined the group.

However, there are several shortcomings in the code following an assessment of its first year in operation, the commission said.

“These can be grouped in four broad categories: inconsistent and incomplete application of the code across platforms and member states, lack of uniform definitions, the existence of several gaps in the coverage of the code commitments, and limitations intrinsic to the self-regulatory nature of the code,” the report said.

The commission vice president for values and transparency, Vera Jourova, called for more action to counter new risks.

“As we also witness new threats and actors the time is ripe to go further and propose new measures. The platforms need to become more accountable and transparent. They need to open up and provide better access to data, among others,” Jourova said.