Big Tech platforms agreed to provide data to the European Union to fight “disinformation” online.
Financial Times reported that Meta, Twitter, Google, and Microsoft provided data to individual EU countries, giving the bloc more control over speech online.
The countries targeted groups that spread so-called “fake news” via the platforms.
“To respond to disinformation effectively, there is a need for country- and language-specific data,” The Times quoted EU Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová as saying “We know disinformation is different in every country, and the big platforms will now have to provide meaningful data that would allow to understand better the situation on the country level.”
The “code of practice on disinformation” is the EU’s latest effort to gain more influence over Big Tech.
NewsBusters reported earlier this year that a proposed law in the EU would force Apple to allow third-party app stores to operate on its products.
“We believe that the owner of a smartphone should have the freedom to choose how to use it,” European Commission spokesperson Johannes Bahrke told The Verge at the time. “This freedom includes being able to opt for alternative sources of apps on your smartphone. With the [Digital Markets Act], a smartphone owner would still be able to enjoy safe and secure services of the default app store on their smart phones. On top of that, if a user so chooses, the DMA would allow a smartphone owner to also opt for other safe app stores.”
For its part, NewsBusters reported the U.S. government opposed the Digital Services Act (DSA), which targeted “illegal” content online.
“DMA would require gatekeepers under certain circumstances to provide competitors with information that may be protected by intellectual property and trade secret law,” a U.S. document reported by Reuters said at the time.
“‘However, the DMA does not include specific language relevant to the protection of intellectual property, including trade secrets. As a result, there is a concern that the DMA may override existing protections for intellectual property rights, including protection for trade secrets, in EU law under certain circumstances.”
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