But did they really? Platforms’ compliance with the Code of Practice on Disinformation in review

Abstract

A key pillar in the EU’s approach to regulating disinformation is the Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation. This self-regulatory Code proposes a broad range of measures for different stakeholders. It has been signed by platform companies that thereby agreed to report on compliance with the Code. This study investigates Google’s, Meta’s, Microsoft’s, TikTok’s and Twitter’s (now X) compliance with their reporting obligations for the first time. Analysing the platform baseline reports published in early 2023, we find that, overall, platforms are only partly compliant with the Code. Qualitative information provided by platforms often lack detail and/or relevance. Reported quantitative data is, in several cases, missing, incomplete, or not robust. We point out claims by platforms that are doubtful or have been proven wrong in the past, and highlight avenues for future research and investigations. Additionally, we reflect on the framework in place for monitoring the Code of Practice and ways to improve it. This study is particularly relevant as the EU is transitioning from a self-regulatory to a co-regulatory model when regulating disinformation. The Code of Practice may soon become a code of conduct under the Digital Services Act (DSA) making non-compliance with it sanctionable and increasing the need for systematic monitoring.

Keywords

• Disinformation
• Platform regulation
• Code of Practice on Disinformation
• EU internet policy
• VLOP