How the European Union had Tried to Tackle Fake News and Disinformation with Soft Law and what Changed with the Digital Services Act?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/2817-2302.2024.03.12Keywords:
Fake news, misinformation, intention, impact, regulation, DSA, soft law, information disorder, Code of Practice on Disinformation, baseline reports, Notice and Action Mechanism, transparency reportsAbstract
The article shows snapshots from the history of fake news and terms and concepts to use in the field of information disorder (fake news, disinformation, misinformation) based on a thorough literature review. It describes that neither the analysis of only the the speaker’s side (the intention) nor the the recipient’s side (the impact) could not alone give a proper conceptual framework, but both should be used by the legislation to tackle these issues. With the viral misinformation through social media, it is clear that this poses new regulatory challenges and requires rapid-response frameworks suited to the digital age’s unique dynamics. In the European Union, the road was marked by the Code of Practice on Disinformation, and the article describes how the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) tries to tackle fake news and disinformation. The article gives some possible legal solutions also.
References
Aczél, P. (2017). Az álhír. Kommentár a jelenség értelmezéséhez. Századvég, 30(2).
Aïmeur, E., et al. (2023). Fake news, disinformation and misinformation in social media: a review. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-023-01028-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-023-01028-5
Altay, S., et al. (2023). Misinformation on Misinformation: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges. Social Media + Society, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221150412 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221150412
Anstead, N. (2021). Fake news: What should we know and what should we do about...? SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529738896 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529738896
Baade, B. (2019). Fake News and International Law. European Journal of International Law, 29(4). https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chy071 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chy071
Badouard, R. (2020). Les nouvelles lois du web. Modération et censure. Le Seuil. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/quaderni.2049
Broda, E. & Strömbäck, J. (2024). Misinformation, disinformation, and fake news: lessons from an interdisciplinary, systematic literature review. Annals of the International Communication Association, 48(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2024.2323736 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2024.2323736
Broughton Micova, S. (2021). What is the harm in size? Very large online platforms in the Digital Services Act. Centre on Regulation in Europe.
Cabrera Blázquez, F. J., et al. (2022). User empowerment against disinformation online. European Audiovisual Observatory.
Çakır-Somlyai, Ö. (2023). Dezinformáció és demokrácia – A jelenlegi helyzet és a jövőbeli lehetőségek vizsgálata. In Çakır-Somlyai Özge (Ed.), A dezinformáció jelensége. Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely.
Cantril, H. (1940). The Invasion from Mars. Princeton University Press.
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. (2016). Official Journal C 202, 7.6.2016, p. 389–405.
Colliver, C. (2019). Cracking the Code: an Evaluation of the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation. Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
COM(2018) 236 final (2018). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A European approach to tackle misinformation online.
COM(2020) 790 final (2020). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the European Agenda for Democracy.
COM(2021) 262 final (2021). Commission guidelines to strengthen the Code of Practice to combat disinformation.
Czarnecka, M. (2023, October 10). Polish Election Campaign ‘Drowning In Disinformation’. Barron’s. https://www.barrons. com/news/polish-election-campaign-drowning-in-disinformation-3653f131
de Cock Buning, M. (2018). A multi-dimensional approach to disinformation, Report of the independent High level Group on fake news and online disinformation. European Union.
Directive 2000/31/EC (2000) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce), Official Journal L 178, 17.7.2000, p. 0001–0016.
Eco, U. (1983). Sette anni di desiderio. Bompiani.
European Commission (2023a, February 9). Signatories of the Code of Practice on Disinformation deliver their first baseline reports in the Transparency Centre. European Commission. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/signatories-code-practice-disinformation-deliver-their-first-baseline-reports-transparency-centre
European Commission (2023b, September 26). Code of Practice on Disinformation: new reports available in the Transparency Centre. European Commission. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/code-practice-disinformation-new-reports-available-transparency-centre
Facebook Oversight Board (2021, August 19): COVID lockdowns in Brazil. Decision. 2021-008-FB-FBR.
Facebook Oversight Board (2023, April 20): Removal of COVID-19 misinformation. Policy advisory opinion. PAO-2022-01.
Fülöp, Z. (2023, October 2). “A hamis profilok nem valós személyeket képviselnek, nincsenek jogaik”. lakmusz.hu. https://www.lakmusz.hu/a-hamis-profilok-nem-valos-szemelyeket-kepviselnek-nincsenek-jogaik
George, J. et al. (2021). Uncovering the Truth about Fake News: A Research Model Grounded in Multi-Disciplinary Literature. Journal of Management Information Systems, 38(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2021.1990608 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2021.1990608
Gerbina, T. V. (2021). Science Disinformation: On the Problem of Fake News. Scientific and Technical Information Processing, 48(4). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0147688221040092 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S0147688221040092
Gorwa, R. (2024). The Politics of Platform Regulation: How Governments Shape Online Content Moderation. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197692851.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197692851.001.0001
Gosztonyi, G. (2023a). Censorship from Plato to Social Media. The Complexity of Social Media’s Content Regulation and Moderation Practices. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46529-1_4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46529-1
Gosztonyi, G. (2023b). Being honest with people? The state of freedom of expression and censorship in Central and Eastern Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Gosztonyi, G. & Lazar, E. (Eds.), Media Regulation During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Ethics International.
HC 1791 (2019, February 18): Disinformation and ‘fake news’: Final Report. London.
Heikkinen, D. (2021). An analysis of fake news and its effects on the economy and society. The Cyber News, Research, and Commentary Journal, 1(2).
Hendricks, V. F. & Vestergaard, M. (2019). Reality Lost. Markets of Attention, Misinformation and Manipulation. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00813-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00813-0
Husovec, M. (2024). The Digital Services Act’s red line: what the Commission can and cannot do about disinformation. Journal of Media Law, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2024.2362483 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2024.2362483
JOIN(2018) 36 final (2018). Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Action Plan against disinformation
Katsirea, I. (2018). “Fake news”: reconsidering the value of untruthful expression in the face of regulatory uncertainty. Journal of Media Law, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2019.1573569 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2019.1573569
Kenyeres, A. Z. & Szűts, Z. (2024). Az álhírek (fake news) definíciós kísérletei és nyelvi jelei. Magyar Nyelvőr, 148(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.38143/Nyr.2024.2.203 DOI: https://doi.org/10.38143/Nyr.2024.2.203
Konopliov, A. (2024, June 26). Key Statistics on Fake News & Misinformation in Media in 2024. Redline Digital. https://redline.digital/fake-news-statistics
Kuczerawy, A. (2020). Fighting Online Disinformation: Did the EU Code of Practice Forget about Freedom of Expression? In G. Terzis et al. (Eds.), Disinformation and Digital Media as a Challenge for Democracy. Intersentia. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781839700422.017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781839700422.017
Kupe, T. (2019, March 18). Why science matters so much in the era of fake news and fallacies. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-science-matters-so-much-in-the-era-of-fake-news-and-fallacies-113298
Lazer, D. et al. (2018). The Science of fake news. Addressing fake news requires a multidisciplinary effort. Science, 359(6380). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao2998 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao2998
Lendvai, G. F. (2023). Media in War. An Overview of the European Restrictions on Russian Media. European Papers: Journal on Law and Integration, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.15166/2499-8249/715
Levy, N. (2024). Fake News: Rebuilding the Epistemic Landscape. In C. Véliz (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198857815.013.6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198857815.013.6
Lilleker, D. G. (2017). Evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee ‘Fake news’ inquiry presented by the Faculty for Media & Communication. Bournemouth University. https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/28610/3/Evidence%20Submission%20-%20Fake%20News%20FINAL.pdf
Lim, G. & Bradshaw, S. (2023). Chilling Legislation: Tracking the Impact of “Fake News” Laws on Press Freedom Internationally. Center for International Media Assistance.
Marsden, C. T. (2011). Internet Co-Regulation: European Law, Regulatory Governance and Legitimacy in Cyberspace. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511763410 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511763410
Merriam-Webster (2017, March 13). The Real Story of ‘Fake News’. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/ wordplay/the-real-story-of-fake-news
Morucci, N. (2024, December 3). Romania’s elections “TikTokgate” continues. Social media rules out preferential treatment for Georgescu. EUNews, https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/ 12/03/romanias-elections-tiktokgate-continues-social-media-rules-out-preferential-treatment-for-georgescu
Nannini, L. et al. (2024). Beyond phase-in: assessing impacts on disinformation of the EU Digital Services Act. AI Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-024-00467-w DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-024-00467-w
Olan, F., et al. (2022). Fake news on Social Media: the Impact on Society. Information Systems Frontiers, 24(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-022-10242-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-022-10242-z
Papakonstantinou, V. (2020). Should we be afraid of Fake News? In G. Terzis et al. (Eds.), Disinformation and Digital Media as a Challenge for Democracy. Intersentia. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781839700422.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781839700422.003
Papp, J. T. (2024). The Difficulties in Defining ’Fake News’. In B. Oręziak (Ed.), The impact of digital platforms and social media on freedom of expression and pluralism. Publishing House of the Institute of Justice.
Polyák, G. (2023). Szabad-e hazudni? Véleményszabadság és dezinformáció. In Çakır-Somlyai, Ö. (Ed.), A dezinformáció jelensége. Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely.
Posetti, J. & Matthews, A. (2018). A short guide to the history of ‘fake news’ and disinformation. International Center for Journalists.
Reglitz, M. (2022). Fake News and Democracy. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.26556/jesp.v22i2.1258 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26556/jesp.v22i2.1258
Regulation (EU) No 2021/784 (2021) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on combating the dissemination of terrorist content online, PE/19/2021/INIT, OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 79–109.
Regulation (EU) No 2022/2065 (2022) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on the Digital Single Market and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Regulation, DSA), PE/30/2022/REV/1, OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1–102.
Report for the European Commission. (2018). High level Group on fake news and online disinformation: A multi-dimensional approach to disinformation. European Union.
Ricker Schulte, S. & Pickard, V. (2020). Fixing Fake News: Self-Regulation and Technological Solutionism: Fake News. Understanding Media and Misinformation in the Digital Age. The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11807.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11807.003.0015
Schudson, M. (2022). What Does “Trust in the Media” Mean? Daedalus, 151(4). https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01948 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01948
Soga, K. et al. (2024). Graph-Based Interpretability for Fake News Detection through Topic- and Propagation-Aware Visualization. Computation, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/computation12040082 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/computation12040082
Soll, J. (2016, December 18). The Long and Brutal History of Fake News. Politico. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/ 2016/12/fake-news-history-long-violent-214535
Tandoc, E. C. et al. (2017) Defining “Fake News”: A typology of scholarly definitions. Digital Journalism, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2017.1360143 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2017.1360143
UNESCO (2020, April 13). During this coronavirus pandemic, ‘fake news’ is putting lives at risk. UN. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061592
University of Baltimore (2019). The economic cost of bad actors on the internet. University of Baltimore – CHEQ. https://info.cheq.ai/hubfs/Research/THE-ECONOMIC-COSTOF-BAD-ACTORS-ON-THE-INTERNET-1.pdf
van der Linden, S. (2023). Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity. Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Van Gordon, W. (2021). True or false? How much is fake news influencing our lives? University of Derby Magazine, 12(1).
Vandystadt, N. (2018, April 26). Action against online misinformation: the Commission proposes an EU-wide code of practice. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/ presscorner/detail/hu/ip_18_3370
Verstraete, M. et al. (2022). Identifying and countering fake news. Hastings Law Journal, 73(3).
Vese, D. (2022). Governing Fake News: The Regulation of Social Media and the Right to Freedom of Expression in the Era of Emergency. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2021.48 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2021.48
Vosoughi, S., et al. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. Science, 359(6380). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559
Wardle, C. & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information Disorder: Toward an Interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy Making. Council of Europe.
Wardle, C. (2023). Misunderstanding Misinformation. Issues in Science and Technology. 29(3), 38–40. https://doi.org/10.58875/ZAUD1691 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58875/ZAUD1691