Google has rejected the new European Union (EU) laws that require it to add fact-checking features to search results or YouTube. The regulation comes as the block plans to broaden disinformation laws.
In 2022, the EU introduced a set of voluntary commitments for tech firms to cut disinformation. These would be made formal and into law under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The tech
Google later changed its position
Google has argued that these latest requirements are not a good fit for its services, adding that it will not be changing its content moderation policies to comply with the requirement. According to an Axios report, the tech giant wrote to the European Commission’s content and technology head Renate Nikolay explaining its position.
In the letter, Google’s global affairs president Kent Walker told the Commission that Google would not be adding fact-checking to its search results and YouTube videos.
“It simply is not appropriate or effective for the company.”
Walker.
Walker also pointed to Google’s existing system, which he believes works just fine, for example, he noted the platform’s successful content moderation during the 2022 elections as proof that its current approach is effective.
However, Google had previously signed a set of EU voluntary commitments. The rules are there to reduce the impact of online disinformation, which is being formalized into laws under DSA.
Resultantly, Walker said Google will also pull out all fact-checking commitments in the Code before the rules become law in the DSA Code of Conduct.
This is not just a Google issue; it is part of a wider conversation about how much control tech platforms should have over the information that is seen online.
Tech CEOs scout for support from Trump
Google’s decision to withdraw from the voluntary commitments comes as US tech firms’ leaders including Google chief executive officer Sundar Pichai, have been trying to woo President-elect Donald Trump, with Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg urging him directly to combat EU regulatory enforcement.
Last week, Meta announced it would stop fact-checking content and reduce its overall policing of speech. Similarly, since Elon Musk took over X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, he’s significantly relaxed the platform’s content moderation policies.
Currently, the EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation commits signatories to work with fact-checkers in all EU countries. This is to make their work available to users in all EU languages and cut financial incentives for spreading disinformation on their platforms.
The code also compels companies to make it easier for users to recognize, understand, and flag disinformation, alongside labeling political ads and analyzing fake accounts, bots, and malicious deepfakes that spread disinformation. But the commitments are never legally binding.
According to the EU, 40 online platforms have already signed the code including Microsoft, TikTok, Twitch, and Meta although the latter opted out of its fact-checking program in the US. X also pulled out after tech billionaire Elon Musk purchased the platform.
The European Fact-Checking Standards Network said many other digital platforms that signed the voluntary disinformation code have been laidback about fulfilling their commitments.
It is not clear if all the code’s requirements will be made official rules under the DSA. Lawmakers in the EU have been deliberating on the proposal with the online platforms signed to ascertain which commitments they will agree to follow.
The code is not yet known when it will come into effect, but it is expected to come into force next month.
As the debate around misinformation continues to heat up, Google’s refusal to comply with the EU’s demands is just the latest chapter in the ongoing conversation about the role of tech companies in managing online content. According to reactions, it seems clear that tech companies are not ready to take on the responsibility of fact-checking themselves, leaving the question of who should police online content still very much up in the air.
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