Is the EU making progress in fighting disinformation?
Part of #ERGA webinar today.
My topline: Perhaps? A little? Though problems continue to evolve, maybe faster than responses.
But if nothing else, 🇪🇺 has done more than other large, complex polities like 🇧🇷🇮🇳🇺🇸.
Thread 1/15
Part of #ERGA webinar today.
My topline: Perhaps? A little? Though problems continue to evolve, maybe faster than responses.
But if nothing else, 🇪🇺 has done more than other large, complex polities like 🇧🇷🇮🇳🇺🇸.
Thread 1/15
To take it from beginning - EU has for years identified disinfo as a “major challenge for European democracies and societies”, #covid19 crisis has only further underlined challenges
First response was creation of High Level Group on Online Disinformation, I was part of it
2/15
First response was creation of High Level Group on Online Disinformation, I was part of it
2/15
In March 2018, the HLG delivered its report ec.europa.eu/digital-single…
It's long and uneven.
@cjimenezcruz, @cward1e @Mantzarlis (then director of @factchecknet) and myself, all of whom had served on it, identified six key takeaways in this post medium.com/@hlegresponse/…
3/15
It's long and uneven.
@cjimenezcruz, @cward1e @Mantzarlis (then director of @factchecknet) and myself, all of whom had served on it, identified six key takeaways in this post medium.com/@hlegresponse/…
3/15
6 key things?
1 Stop calling it f*ke news.
2 Focus on collaborative responses
3 Provide funding for research
4 Platforms need to share data
5 Public authorities need to share data
6 Need for significant €€€ support for independent news media, fact-checking, MI literacy
4/15
1 Stop calling it f*ke news.
2 Focus on collaborative responses
3 Provide funding for research
4 Platforms need to share data
5 Public authorities need to share data
6 Need for significant €€€ support for independent news media, fact-checking, MI literacy
4/15
About 8 months later, the @EU_Commission announced its action plan against disinformation
ec.europa.eu/commission/pub…
Here a thread with my summary of it
(Let's just say it didn't provide the €100m+ the HLG had suggested to combat "major challenge")
5/15
ec.europa.eu/commission/pub…
Here a thread with my summary of it
(Let's just say it didn't provide the €100m+ the HLG had suggested to combat "major challenge")
5/15
Compared to the 6 key things?
1 Stopped calling it f*ke news ✔️
2 Focus on collaboration ✔️
3 Some € for research (~€2.5m has been given, more on its way) (✔️)
4 Well... monthly PDFs? ❌
5 No progress I can see ❌
6 Minimal €€€ (remember, EU annual budget is €165b)❌
6/15
1 Stopped calling it f*ke news ✔️
2 Focus on collaboration ✔️
3 Some € for research (~€2.5m has been given, more on its way) (✔️)
4 Well... monthly PDFs? ❌
5 No progress I can see ❌
6 Minimal €€€ (remember, EU annual budget is €165b)❌
6/15
Key part of collaboration part has been "code of practice" announced in Sep 2018, signed by some but not all platforms, advertisers, +others.
Wrote about it here
How has code worked out? Mixed. Better than nothing? At least for small member states.
7/15
Wrote about it here
How has code worked out? Mixed. Better than nothing? At least for small member states.
7/15
European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (#erga) assessment of how code has worked (which I largely agree with) call it "signficant step" but stresses need for greater transparency+detailed data, wonder if self-regulation is enough
erga-online.eu/wp-content/upl…
8/15
erga-online.eu/wp-content/upl…
8/15
Where do we go from here?
Since 2018 we've been in a bit of a holding pattern, every ~quarter @EU_Commission says basically the same: "our-initiatives-are-working-but-platforms-must-do-more"
But still little data from platforms, little data from authorities, no real €
9/15
Since 2018 we've been in a bit of a holding pattern, every ~quarter @EU_Commission says basically the same: "our-initiatives-are-working-but-platforms-must-do-more"
But still little data from platforms, little data from authorities, no real €
9/15
What does the public think?
@risj_oxford research suggest people are a) worried about what's real/fake online, b) see domestic politicians as most concerning source of false and misleading information, and c) see social media - esp Facebook - as most concerning platforms
10/15
@risj_oxford research suggest people are a) worried about what's real/fake online, b) see domestic politicians as most concerning source of false and misleading information, and c) see social media - esp Facebook - as most concerning platforms
10/15
Point (b) above is important.
Domestic politicians part of these problems. And people know it. And in some countries some of these politicians don't like free expression/media.
Tools given to Merkel will be used by Orban too, tools given to Conte by the next Berlusconi.
11/15
Domestic politicians part of these problems. And people know it. And in some countries some of these politicians don't like free expression/media.
Tools given to Merkel will be used by Orban too, tools given to Conte by the next Berlusconi.
11/15
So I think the next steps have to focus on
1 Securing greater transparency + access to data
2 Incentivizing collaboration
3 Investing actual €€€ in strengthening independent media
(That's leaving aside wider range of policy discussions on competition, data, tax etc)
12/15
1 Securing greater transparency + access to data
2 Incentivizing collaboration
3 Investing actual €€€ in strengthening independent media
(That's leaving aside wider range of policy discussions on competition, data, tax etc)
12/15
If we don't get greater transparency+better data, we risk flying blind and let people mark their own homework
If we don't collaborate, we can't handle wicked problems
If policymakers don't invest €€€ in “major challenge for European democracies and societies”. Well...? 13/15
If we don't collaborate, we can't handle wicked problems
If policymakers don't invest €€€ in “major challenge for European democracies and societies”. Well...? 13/15
I've written elsewhere (w/@rgorwa and Madeleine de Cock Buning) on some of the specific policy options available to policymakers on indepedent news media here reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/risj-review/wh…
And support work of e.g. @mozilla Foundation on data sharing, blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/03/2…
14/15
And support work of e.g. @mozilla Foundation on data sharing, blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/03/2…
14/15
Finally, it's easy to write real nice declarations, but people out there are running real nations, the problems are complex, as is the politics.
What has been done in 🇪🇺 is limited, incremental, uneven, but hell of a lot more than other large, complex polities like 🇧🇷🇮🇳🇺🇸
15/15
What has been done in 🇪🇺 is limited, incremental, uneven, but hell of a lot more than other large, complex polities like 🇧🇷🇮🇳🇺🇸
15/15
