EU asks big tech to do more

Google, Facebook, Twitter and Mozilla must do more to combat fake news as Europeans head towards an election; or the companies will face the threat of regulatory action, the European Commission said.

The EU Parliament will host its election this year between 23 and 26 May, and the Commission is looking to avoid massive electoral manipulation by foreign powers using social media platforms. 

Background 

Elections to the European Parliament are expected to be held from 23–26 May 2019. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) currently represent more than 512 million people from 28 member states. In February 2018, the European Parliament voted to decrease the number of MEPs from 751 to 705 after the United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union on the current schedule.

The term “fake news” has become increasingly popular due to its linkage to debates surrounding democratic process and free speech in the information age. It refers to news stories that intentionally spread misinformation or false facts. In recent years, the growth of social media has enabled the spread of misinformation. Tech giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter have been grappling with addressing the rise of “fake news” and misinformation online in the recent years.

During the Presidential elections in the US, the number of fake news websites and stories increased exponentially. These were among some of the most viral stories from that year. The rise of ‘fake news’ wasn’t just isolated to the American elections. Fake news stories have been spreading across the world and there is generally a surge of doctored videos and stories shared during sensitive periods.

Tech giants like Google, Facebook and Twitter have been grappling with addressing the rise of “fake news” online in the recent years. During the Presidential elections in the US, the number of fake news websites and stories increased exponentially. These were among some of the most viral stories from that year. The spread of fake news through social media platforms was also rampant during other major elections such as the French Presidential elections.

Analysis 

The European Union’s executive said signatories to the code of practice had taken steps to remove fake accounts and limit sites promoting fake news but said more was needed. Companies and trade bodies representing the advertising industry signed up to a voluntary code of conduct in October to ward off more heavy-handed legislation. Critics say not enough has been done since they signed up.

“Now they should make sure these tools are available to everyone across the EU, monitor their efficiency, and continuously adapt to new means used by those spreading disinformation. There is no time to waste,” EU Commissioner for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said.

European Parliament will hold elections in May while Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine all go to the polls in coming months.

Russia has faced allegations - which it denies - of spreading false information to influence the U.S. presidential election and Britain’s referendum on European Union membership in 2016, as well as Germany’s national election in 2017. The Commission called on Facebook to provide more clarity on how it uses its tools to fight fake news and told Google to expand its actions to more EU countries.

It said Twitter should provide more details on its measures while it said Mozilla’s online browser should have more information on how it would limit details about users’ browsing activities. The Commission also lamented the absence of advertisers signing up to the pact.

Google said it had announced several measures such as disclosing whether political organisations or political issue advocacy groups were paying for European parliamentary election advertisements, and setting up a library with these details.

Google’s Project Shield would help protect campaign groups and journalists from cyber-attacks, it said. Facebook said: “The battle against false news is an ongoing one, and we need to work together with others in the technology industry, public authorities and governments to make continued progress.”

Twitter said in a statement it had made several changes “including enhanced safety policies, better tools and resources for detecting and stopping malicious activity, tighter advertising standards, and increased transparency to promote better public understanding of all of these areas.”

Assessment 

Our assessment is that the EU is eager to avoid a repetition of the 2016 US Presidential Election which was allegedly influenced by Russian hackers. We believe that in addition to the EU’s GDPR Regulations, the new appeal to tech companies will be fairly successful in repelling foreign attempts to influence the election.