Major online platforms, emerging and specialised platforms, players in the advertising industry, fact-checkers, and research and civil society organisations have delivered a strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation following the Commission’s Guidance of May 2021.

The strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation was presented to the Commission on 16 June 2022. It was signed by 34 signatories who were all part of the revision process of the 2018 Code.

The new Code aims to achieve the objectives of the Commission’s Guidance, published in May 2021, by setting a broader range of commitments and measures to counter online disinformation.

The Commission notes that the 2022 Code of Practice is the result of work carried out by the signatories. It is for the signatories to decide which commitments they sign up to and it is their responsibility to ensure their effectiveness. The Code is not endorsed by the Commission, although the Commission considers that the revised Code fulfils the expectations set out in its Guidance from May 2021.

In the revised Code, signatories committed to take action in various areas, such as: (i) demonetising the dissemination of disinformation; (ii) ensuring the transparency of political advertising; (iii) empowering users; (iv) enhancing cooperation with fact-checkers; and (v) providing researchers with better access to data.

Recognising the importance of making the Code future-proof, signatories agreed to establish a framework for further collaboration through a permanent Taskforce. The Code also comes with a strengthened monitoring framework based on qualitative reporting and service-level indicators measuring the effectiveness of its implementation. Signatories will set up a Transparency Centre, providing a clear overview to the public of the policies they put in place to implement their commitments, and will update it regularly with the relevant data.

Signatories will have six months to implement the commitments and measures to which they have signed up. Together with the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) and the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), the Commission will regularly assess the progress made in the implementation of the Code, based on the qualitative and quantitative reporting from signatories.

The Taskforce, which will meet as necessary and at least every six months, will monitor and adapt the commitments in view of technological, societal, market and legislative developments. To read the Commission’s press release, click here. To access the 2022 Code, click here.