Major online platforms such as TikTok and Twitter failed to effectively tackle Russian disinformation during the first year of the war in Ukraine, according to a study published Wednesday by the European Union.
The publication of this independent study, carried out on behalf of the EU, comes after stricter rules for very large platforms came into force this month under new digital services legislation, the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The report examines the compliance of the actions carried out by six actors (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter -renamed X-, YouTube, TikTok and Telegram) with these new rules.
The six, with the exception of Telegram, have been subject since August 25 to reinforced obligations in terms of content control and the fight against disinformation and online hate. The report concludes that “risk mitigation standards have not been met in the case of Kremlin disinformation.”
The European Commission, however, stressed that “limited access to data imposes certain reservations when assessing” that the efforts of technology companies have been “insufficient”.
Risk of influence for the next elections
The EU is concerned about possible disinformation campaigns during the European elections scheduled for next year. According to the study, there is a “high risk” that Russia will try to influence the elections.
Even before the entry into force of the DSA, the evaluated companies, except Telegram, had signed a code of good practices against online disinformation, which contains around forty voluntary commitments aimed, in particular, at better cooperating with “facts”. -checkers” and deprive them. Sites that distribute fake news or advertisements.
These commitments have “mitigated some of the malicious activities of the Kremlin,” estimates the report, which regrets, however, that the platforms “have not applied these measures at a systemic level.”
Twitter withdrew from the code of conduct last June. The authors warn that Russian disinformation online has increased in 2023, following the acquisition of Twitter by billionaire Elon Musk “in part as a result of the dismantling of security standards” of the social network.
Elon Musk launched a wave of layoffs after his arrival at the head of the social network, firing many moderators who reviewed Twitter content. However, he claimed last week that Twitter/X was “working hard” to comply with DSA rules.
Source: BFM TV
