Google will not add reality checks to go looking outcomes and YouTube movies regardless of new EU legislation – Firstpost

In a daring transfer, Google has informed the European Union it received’t be including fact-checking to its search outcomes or YouTube movies, regardless of the brand new legal guidelines requiring such measures. The tech big made this clear in a letter to the European Fee, in response to a report by Axios, which accessed the aforementioned letter.  

In line with Google, the brand new necessities will not be an excellent match for its companies, and it received’t be altering its content material moderation insurance policies to conform.

Google stands agency on its content material moderation method

Google has all the time resisted the concept of utilizing fact-checking as a part of its content material moderation technique, and it’s sticking to that stance. Within the letter, Kent Walker, Google’s world affairs president, informed the Fee that including fact-checking to its search outcomes and YouTube movies merely “isn’t applicable or efficient” for the corporate. He additionally pointed to Google’s present system, which he believes works simply tremendous. For instance, he famous the platform’s profitable content material moderation throughout the 2022 elections as proof that its present method is efficient.

Walker additionally highlighted YouTube’s new function permitting customers so as to add contextual notes to movies as a step in the fitting route. The function, which was rolled out final yr, is designed to assist fight misinformation and, in response to Walker, has numerous potential to enhance the platform.

What the EU legislation requires

The brand new EU Disinformation Code of Apply, which was launched in 2022, asks tech firms to take a extra lively position in tackling misinformation. The legislation mandates that firms like Google embrace fact-checking alongside search outcomes and YouTube movies. It additionally pushes for fact-checking to be built-in into their rating methods and algorithms, a transfer the EU believes will scale back the unfold of false data on-line.

However Google isn’t on board with this concept. The corporate had already signalled to lawmakers that it wouldn’t adjust to the brand new guidelines, and within the letter, Walker reaffirmed that Google received’t be altering its practices. He additionally talked about that Google plans to “pull out of all fact-checking commitments” within the Code earlier than it turns into a part of the official Digital Providers Act (DSA) Code of Conduct.

A wider pattern amongst tech giants

This isn’t only a Google problem — it’s a part of a wider dialog about how a lot management tech platforms ought to have over the data we see on-line. Final week, Meta introduced it will cease fact-checking content material and scale back its total policing of speech. Equally, since Elon Musk took over X (previously Twitter) in 2022, he’s considerably relaxed the platform’s content material moderation insurance policies.

As the controversy round misinformation continues to warmth up, Google’s refusal to adjust to the EU’s calls for is simply the newest chapter within the ongoing dialog concerning the position of tech firms in managing on-line content material. It appears clear that these firms will not be able to tackle the duty of fact-checking themselves, leaving the query of who ought to police on-line content material nonetheless very a lot up within the air.