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Statement of the Working Group on the Code of Practice to address online disinformation in Europe
The European Commission’s Communication on Tackling Disinformation promised an ambitious Code of Practice in this area. Today, the advertising and online platform sectors are pleased to announce that an important milestone has been reached as they present the first ever Code of Practice on Disinformation.
A Working Group constituted of representatives of both sectors have worked on the Code of Practice on Disinformation within the framework of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Disinformation. Under the guidance of the European Commission and considerable pressure to deliver within a very challenging timeline, the Working Group presented today a consolidated Code of Practice, as well as a list of best practices already in place to Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. The working group looks forward to presenting the Commissioner with the signatories to the code as well as a roadmap of actions to be taken in the near future.
Members of the Working Group agree with the Commission that combating the spread of disinformation is a critical challenge for our sectors and for society at large and look forward to continuing to work on this important issue. The Working Group also acknowledges the important value of freedom of expression and that work to combat disinformation should at all times strive to preserve press freedom and protect the open, democratic nature of the internet.
“The Code of Practice responds to the suggestion of the Commission High Level Expert Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation that as a first step, a non-regulatory multi-stakeholder approach is taken to tackle online disinformation. The Code demonstrates the ongoing commitment of the signatories to work in collaboration to tackle disinformation. To achieve this milestone, we’ve worked with genuine commitment and a sense of urgency to produce the Code and are grateful for the guidance of the Commission on this important topic and for the feedback provided by the Sounding Board as part of the process” said Siada El Ramly, spokesperson of the Code of Practice’s Working Group of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Disinformation.
Read the complete statement here:
