As we reported in October last year (Combating online disinformation...), the major online platforms operating in the EU (e.g. Facebook, Google, Twitter) signed a Code of Practice against disinformation and promised to do better in controlling for and eliminating fake news. This interest in increasing information transparency was mainly motivated politically - ahead of the elections to European Parliament in May 2019 - but should have an impact also on transparency of consumer information, e.g. by controlling for advertisement placements and blocking fake accounts. That is, provided that the online platforms actually deliver on their commitments. To ensure they do, the Commission obliged them to report monthly on the undertaken actions. The first reports of January 2019 are not really promising though (Commission asks online platforms to provide more details on progress made). Only Google provided data on actions taken in January to enhance scrutiny of ad placements throughout the Member States, however, even with this report the Commission considers not to have been given enough details to fully understand how the undertaken actions combat disinformation. Monday, 4 March 2019
Online platforms will be online platforms
As we reported in October last year (Combating online disinformation...), the major online platforms operating in the EU (e.g. Facebook, Google, Twitter) signed a Code of Practice against disinformation and promised to do better in controlling for and eliminating fake news. This interest in increasing information transparency was mainly motivated politically - ahead of the elections to European Parliament in May 2019 - but should have an impact also on transparency of consumer information, e.g. by controlling for advertisement placements and blocking fake accounts. That is, provided that the online platforms actually deliver on their commitments. To ensure they do, the Commission obliged them to report monthly on the undertaken actions. The first reports of January 2019 are not really promising though (Commission asks online platforms to provide more details on progress made). Only Google provided data on actions taken in January to enhance scrutiny of ad placements throughout the Member States, however, even with this report the Commission considers not to have been given enough details to fully understand how the undertaken actions combat disinformation. 
