EU-Koronovios: The social media misinformation monitoring program is extended for 6 months

The European Commission announced today the extension of the coronavirus misinformation monitoring program for another six months until June 2022.

“The pandemic is not over yet, so we want the platforms to step up their efforts to tackle COVID-19 misinformation, including vaccines, and in all EU languages,” said the vice-president of the Commission. Transparency, Vera Giurova. “As he said, the platforms are expected to translate the lessons learned from the COVID monitoring program into a stronger monitoring framework for the new Anti-Misinformation Code.”

For his part, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton added that current and future signatories need to work together effectively to deliver a strong Code that will clearly change the game for adapting the responsibility of online platforms, ensuring timely “The media should not be a ‘Wild West exposing the citizen to a relentless flow of misinformation,'” he said.

According to the Commission, recent reports indicate that YouTube has extended its medical misinformation policy to include vaccine claims that run counter to the consent of local health authorities or the WHO. TikTok has increased the number of keywords / hashtags that can trigger COVID-19 and vaccine-related tags and banners. Twitter has updated its policy on misleading information about vaccines. Microsoft’s LinkedIn has expanded its reach with Europeans to spread the word about vaccination. Meta / Facebook has updated its worldwide policies on child vaccination against COVID-19, for example fake content claiming that vaccines do not exist for children or that they are unsafe and unchecked.

Recently, 26 new candidate signatories joined the drafting process to strengthen the Code of Practice for Misinformation, which is now expected by the end of March 2022. The extended timetable will allow signatories to draft a strong instrument with detailed commitments. The Commission urges the signatory parties to carry out the review promptly, in compliance with its guidelines, and to intensify their efforts for the monitoring program, taking into account the recent recommendations of the European Audiovisual Services Regulators Group (ERGA).

Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news