The EU toughens its disinformation Code of Practice, covering deepfakes, bots, fake accounts, and more; Meta, Google, TikTok, Twitter, and others have signed up
Katie Collins — Katie a UK-based news reporter and features writer. Officially, she is CNET's European correspondent …
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Context & Ripple Effects
The updated code follows an EU agreement on tougher platform disinformation rules that included country-by-country content-removal reporting. The new commitments broaden the operating scope from reporting to threats associated with deepfakes, automated activity, and fake accounts.
Later EU coverage shows the code becoming part of a more measurable enforcement arc: the first DSA transparency report compared platforms' disinformation and fake-account actions, while proposed penalties targeted weak moderation of AI election content.
First-order effects
Meta, Google, TikTok, Twitter, and the other signatories must extend their disinformation programs to cover deepfakes, bots, and fake accounts under the tougher code.
Country-level removal reporting gives the EU a clearer basis to compare how participating platforms enforce their commitments.
Second-order effects
TikTok, Meta, Google, and Twitter face more directly comparable moderation records, increasing pressure on lagging platforms to strengthen detection, enforcement, and disclosure practices.
The code's focus on undisclosed advertising and synthetic or automated manipulation aligns with TikTok's subsequent changes to branded-content policy and ad reporting, pushing integrity controls across both content and advertising workflows.
Third-order effects
If code commitments continue to feed into DSA reporting and enforcement, voluntary platform standards increasingly function as inputs to formal EU oversight rather than standalone pledges.
AI-generated election content makes deepfake controls a durable compliance category, as signaled by the Commission's planned action against platforms over lax AI-election moderation.
The trend: EU platform governance is moving from voluntary disinformation commitments toward comparable reporting and enforcement across synthetic media, advertising, and account integrity.
Meta is delighted to sign the new EU Code of Practice on Disinformation. Combating the spread of misinfo is a complex and evolving societal issue. We continue to invest heavily in teams and technology, and we look forward to more collaboration to address it together. https://twit…
No one should receive a single € from spreading fake news & propaganda🚫 Demonetisation — together with #DSA legal obligation of risk mitigation — is the cornerstone of the Strenghtened Code of Practice on #Disinformation. Unveiling today together with @VeraJourova https://twitter…
The 33 signatories of the Code, include civil society, fact-checkers and major tech companies and platforms such as: ✔️ Google ✔️ Meta ✔️ TikTok ✔️ Twitter ✔️ Microsoft ✔️ Mozilla They are committed to making the online space more transparent, safe and trustworthy. #DigitalEU htt…
Disinformation and misinformation thrive in uncertainty and secrecy. To counter these threats, we have strengthened our #CodeofPractice on Disinformation. ↓ #DigitalEU #DSA
Congratulations to @VeraJourova and @ThierryBreton 🤝 on the EU's new Code of Practice on #Disinformation that was published today. @CCIAeurope ✅ fully supports the fight against the dissemination of disinformation. 👇1/2 https://twitter.com/...
The Code of Practice on Disinformation will be backed up by the Digital Services Act, which means that companies that don't comply face fines of up to 6% of global turnover. #DSA #CodeOfPractice #DigitalEU https://twitter.com/...
The signatories commit to: 👮report fake accounts and deep fakes 🗣️ flag disinformation, foster better access to reliable information 🔎 develop tools with fact-checkers 👍 provide better access to country-specific data ❌ prevent financial gain from disinformation ✔️ and more https:…
Always interesting that EU officials mention Brexit & Jan. 6 riots as clear examples of how disinformation can harm society — though a lot of that was promoted by <<checks notes>> democratically-elected politicians.
New (voluntary) rules now out: https://ec.europa.eu/... “If people lose trust in information they find online, they will ultimately lose trust in democracy altogether,” says @VeraJourova https://twitter.com/...
Our new anti-disinformation Code marks a new stage of our comprehensive answer to #disinformation. We now have tough commitments to reduce #disinformation impact online & robust tools to ensure compliance across the EU and in all languages. 👉 https://ec.europa.eu/... #DigitalEU h…