Amsterdam: experience the first-ever walking movie
You can watch it over and over since it will be available for the next six months
It will be accompanied by a Digital Services Act to form a toolbox of measures that curtail rampant and malicious propaganda
Yesterday, the European Commission announced the publication of an updated version of its Code of Practice on Disinformation. Originally unveiled in 2018, this is a tool that has been used to encourage online platforms to commit to the fight against fake news and misleading information.
The strengthened code of practice entices online social media companies to enforce tougher rules with regard to displaying unverified content. These include more transparency on political ads, counteracting “bot accounts” and giving users more robust means to report disinformation.
There are already 34 signatories including major online platforms, notably Meta, Google, Twitter, TikTok, and Microsoft. The Code targets also other players like smaller or specialised platforms, the online ad industry, ad-tech companies, fact-checkers, and civil society organisations.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its accompanying propaganda have clearly served as a wake-up call to the EU authorities that not enough was being done regarding the spread of disinformation. The European Commission realized that the measures that have been in place until now might have been a tad naïve and ineffective.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, explains: “Disinformation is a form of invasion of our digital space, with tangible impact on our daily lives. Online platforms need to act strongly, especially on the issue of funding. Spreading disinformation should not bring a single euro to anyone.”
The new Code still relies on the willful participation of signatories and their goodwill to enforce change, something that critics have noted. This time, however, it will be supplemented by the upcoming Digital Services Act (DSA), which will impose heavy fines on the large players in the digital media field. They could stand to lose as much as 6% of their global turnover.
What’s more, signatories will have to provide the European Commission with implementation reports at the start of 2023 to demonstrate how they have adapted their internal rules to the Code. For this purpose, there will be a special Task Force, which will advise the Commission, after studying quantitatively and qualitatively the reports from the companies.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro comes from the Azores archipelago of Portugal, and is thus the first CoR President from that country and from an outermost region
You can watch it over and over since it will be available for the next six months
The FAST-CARE package comes at a time of growing needs and concerns and in the context of the ongoing war in the European neighbourhood
Abandoned fishing gear is one of the most dangerous threats to the marine environment, but also to divers and underwater heritage
The town of Makarska has recently launched a new mobile service, aiming to cut down on paper use and stimulate citizens to go contactless
The invention promises to be revolutionary as it can decouple food production from agriculture and its environmental impacts
It turns out spraying water would be extremely impracticable and wasteful due to fast evaporation
The art initiative was begun by the city's mayor, who wants to expose people that try to save on transportation costs by illegally disposing of old furniture or construction materials
This is one of the ambitious goals from the new agreement details for the “Fit for 55” package
You can watch it over and over since it will be available for the next six months
The FAST-CARE package comes at a time of growing needs and concerns and in the context of the ongoing war in the European neighbourhood
Trenitalia has announced that it wants to reduce the phenomenon of domestic animals being left behind alone while their owners go on holidays
These will be spread across 11 EU countries and will serve to support the EU Missions
The European Commission has accepted to develop the idea
An interview about AYR, one of the 2021 New European Bauhaus Prize winners
A conversation with the Mayor of Matosinhos, Portugal’s first UN Resilience Hub
An interview with Nigel Jollands and Sue Goeransson from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
An interview with the President of the City of Athens Reception & Solidarity Centre