Code of conduct on disinformation approved by the European Commission

Following the favorable opinion of the European Digital Services Committee, which brings together the coordinators of digital services (including Arcom), the European Commission yesterday approved the code of conduct on disinformation.

This means that the voluntary commitments made by a number of major online platforms (Bing, Facebook, Google Search, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube) become legally enforceable under the Digital Services Regulation (DSR), and are subject to strict conditions of transparency. On this occasion, the major platforms have reformulated their voluntary commitments, sometimes tightening them.

The inclusion of the code of conduct within the legal framework of the DSR has therefore strengthened this approach, which is essential to strengthening the trust of European citizens and defending online civil liberties.

It marks a new stage in the deployment of the dynamic begun in 2018 with the adoption of a first code of practice on disinformation, to be strengthened in 2022.

The implementation of this code will mobilize its signatories, platforms, media and civil society players. It will enable us to better fight against the artificial amplification of content by fake or automated accounts (BOT), to more effectively detect and understand the origin of unfounded rumors through the action of fact-checkers, and to participate in strengthening the integrity of our information spaces. It will also enable collective mobilization during election periods.

Arcom will play an active part in this initiative at both European and national level.

The code of conduct on disinformation