‘European Commission summons tech companies to act harder against deepfakes’

The European Commission will tighten up a code of conduct for large tech companies to ensure that they take measures to tackle deepfake images and fake accounts. After signing, the companies have six months to take measures.

The European Commission publishes the updated code of conduct to combat disinformation Thursday, reports Reuters, which was given access to documents about this. The code of conduct entered into force in 2018, but after the European Commission tightened it up, it would be about so-called co-regulation, with authorities and signatories taking more responsibility for compliance.

The amended text states, among other things, that signatories to the code of conduct “adopt, reinforce and implement clear policies” to counter manipulative behavior by “malicious actors” on their services. After signing, companies such as Twitter, Google and Meta have six months to implement the policy and measures. If they do not comply with the rules, they risk a fine of up to 6 percent of their annual turnover based on the Digital Services Act. In April, the European Commission reached an agreement on the Digital Services Act, which, among other things, obliges large tech companies to take a tougher approach to disinformation.