The Francophone Higher Audiovisual Council (Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel - CSA) is concerned about the disengagement of major platforms and search engines, such as Google, Microsoft and Meta, in the fight against disinformation.
In mid-February, the European Commission and the European Digital Services Council approved the integration of the Code of Conduct on Disinformation (CoP) into the European Digital Services Regulation (DSA).
This code – which has been voluntary until now – will become mandatory for major platforms from 1 July 2025. Its main measures include the demonetisation of misleading content, transparency of political advertising and the reduction of fake accounts and "deepfakes".
However, an analysis by the CSA and its French, German and Slovak counterparts as part of a task force within the CoP shows a "general trend towards disengagement by very large platforms and search engines," deplored CSA president, Karim Ibourki, in a press release. "The current attitude of major platforms is alarming."
Few concrete solutions
The most affected areas of disengagement are fact-checking, access to data for researchers and measures to regulate political advertising.
"On the eve of major events for Europe, such as the elections in Germany on Sunday 23 February, the disengagement of platforms noted by national regulators to combat disinformation, the statements by Mark Zuckerberg about fact-checking and the attitude of Elon Musk, owner of X, regarding the German elections, go against the objectives pursued by the DSA," said the media regulator of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
The DSA requires platforms to moderate illicit and harmful content such as disinformation. "By disengaging in a series of areas, however, the platforms offer few concrete avenues or solutions," the CSA said. It calls on the European Commission "to be particularly vigilant."
