On Disinformation, Is Big Tech Ready For The Digital Services Act?

Forbes

2 days ago

Brussels, Belgium - 21 May, 2022: European Union flag in front of the Berlaymont building, ... More headquarters of European Commission.
With the EU's Digital Services Act set to come into force next week, big tech firms are failing to fulfil their obligations when it comes to disinformation, a new report has claimed.
According to the European Digital Media Observatory, there's a 'clear gap' between the platforms' commitments under the Code of Practice on Disinformation - set to be integrated into the DSA - and their actual implementation.
The research is based on an evaluation of transparency reports submitted by Meta, Google, Microsoft and TikTok last year, with independent verification by EDMO researchers and qualitative insights from a survey with experts.
And, said the EDMO, the companies have so far made very limited efforts.
"In every field, most [Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines]"Even when formal agreements exist, their implementation often falls short of expectations. As a result, current efforts rarely translate into long-term, systemic support for counter-disinformation strategies."
In terms of the companies' commitment to media literacy and content labeling, Meta's initiatives - such as We Think Digital and in-app prompts - lack transparency in terms of their geographical scope, and don't provide substantive data on user engagement or measurable outcomes at the national level, the researchers said.
Microsoft, meanwhile, partners with services like NewsGuard, but can't give much evidence of reach or effectiveness. There are no user engagement figures, no reported outcomes, and no indication of the actual scale of these efforts.
Google, meanwhile, has prebunking initiatives and features such as 'More About This Page.'
"However, these efforts remain largely unaccountable, as Google provides no concrete data on user reach or effectiveness," the researchers said.
"While the initiatives appear well-designed in theory, the lack of transparency around their actual performance makes it impossible to assess their real-world impact."
TikTok's doing a bit better, the researchers found, with a broader range of national campaigns and fact-checking partnerships. However, it's still failing to provide country-specific detail or consistent engagement data.
Governance for sensitive data access, said the EDMO, is a weak point for all the platforms. Meta, Microsoft and Google reference pilot programs, but don't provide any substantive public documentation on governance frameworks or outcomes. Meanwhile, while TikTok is taking part in a EDMO data access pilot, it doesn't give any conclusive evidence as to the effectiveness or transparency of these governance efforts.
There are varying degrees of cooperation with fact-checkers, another commitment set to come into force with the DSA.
While Meta lists quite a number of activities and partnerships, it doesn't provide any systematic evaluation of their impact, while Microsoft provides only "minimal and vague" references to cooperation.
By contrast, Google and TikTok get the thumbs up for their well-integrated processes, though again they don't provide a great deal of information.
"Although platforms like Google and TikTok demonstrate more structured approaches in certain areas, none provide full transparency, independent verification, or robust impact reporting," the researchers said.
"Meta's efforts are undermined by poor disclosure and the absence of meaningful impact data. While Microsoft's performance is particularly weak across all commitments, this result should be considered in connection with the specific risk-profile of its services."
Meta, Google, Microsoft and TikTok have been approached for comment.