The European Commission and the European Board for Digital Services decided to support the new Code of Practice on Disinformation to become part of the Digital Services Act (DSA) with the aim of helping signatories, including several big tech firms, to comply with the DSA.
The new code is set to become a code of conduct after signatories submitted the necessary documentations for it and showing that it fulfils the criteria laid down by the DSA. Among the signatories of the code there were tech firms like Google, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok. The policy is a stark contrast with where some of the tech firms are going in the US, with Meta recently dropping its fact-checking moderation.
Adherence to the code will help the companies in risk mitigation in cases of conflict with the European Union and it will be measured with an annual independent audit. The new code will enter into force on 1 July, in order to allow for synchronization among the tech companies involved.
The approval of the code was hailed by the Commission with Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen saying that “Europeans deserve a safe online space where they can navigate without being manipulated. This conversion to a Code of Conduct under the Digital Services Act is an important milestone in stepping up the EU’s regulatory framework in the fight against disinformation.”
The code will focus on demonisation of outlets spreading fake news, adding more transparency in recognising political advertising and reducing fake accounts, the reach of bot-driven actions and other behaviour used to spread misinformation like deepfakes. Customers will also be able to get access to better tools against disinformation and fact-checking.
