Source: European Parliament
On 18 December 2023 the Commission opened formal proceedings[1] to assess whether X may have breached the Digital Services Act[2] focusing, among others, on the effectiveness of X’s measures against information manipulation, particularly the ‘Community Notes’ system.
The Commission is currently assessing whether Community Notes effectively help users identify disinformation and mitigate risks to public debate and electoral processes.
Transparency, media literacy and critical thinking are among the tools supported by the Commission to equip citizens to identify disinformation.
The Commission Recommendation on inclusive and resilient elections[3] encourages Member States to support projects aiming to build resilience and develop public awareness, media literacy and critical thinking to address information manipulation, interference and disinformation.
The regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising[4] will ensure from October 2025 that political advertisements are labelled, accompanied by a transparency notice and subject to strict requirements when targeted.
The DSA is complemented by a voluntary Code of Practice on Disinformation. Signatories of the Code have committed to reduce the spread of disinformation on their services, through user empowerment, transparency of political advertising, measures against manipulative behaviour, as well as cooperation with independent fact-checkers and researchers.
The upcoming Democracy Shield will aim to protect and promote democracy in the EU. The Shield will look at ways to reinforce digital and media literacy and prevention through pre-bunking. The Commission intends to strengthen a European network of fact-checkers and make it available in all languages.
- [1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_6709
- [2] Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC.
- [3] Commission Recommendation (EU) 2023/2829 of 12 December 2023 on inclusive and resilient electoral processes in the Union and enhancing the European nature and efficient conduct of the elections to the European Parliament.
- [4] Regulation (EU) 2024/900 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2024 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising.