The EU wants to empower citizens and give them legal tools to act against disinformation
The European Commission has presented a European Democracy Action Plan. The aim is empower citizens and build “more resilient democracies” across the EU.
The Action Plan sets out measures to promote free and fair elections, strengthen media freedom and counter disinformation.
Responsibilities
Concretely, the Commission proposes action on political advertising that will address the sponsors of paid content and production and distribution channels, including online platforms, advertisers and political consultancies, clarifying their respective responsibilities.
The EU executive is also going to recommend measures to tackle safety of journalists and present an initiative to protect them from strategic lawsuits against public participation.
An overhaul the existing Code of Practice on Disinformation is also envisaged. Here, the aim is to strengthen requirements for online platforms and introducing vigorous monitoring and oversight.
