The EU commissioner for digital, Mariya Gabriel, in an interview with Qn spoke about fake news and relations with upcoming electoral commitments
We want to deal with fake news, in particular fake news on social and political issues. The elections in Italy will be monitored on a par with other countries.
Since 2015 we have been acting against the disinformation campaigns underway in Russia, which aim to destabilize European democracies and in particular Eastern Europe ”; explains Gabriel. “To make progress we must define what is necessary at the European level to protect citizens and safeguard our values and our democracies.
Even when they are not illegal, fake news is spreading at a disturbing rate, threatening the reputation of the media and the health of our democracies ”, highlights the European Commissioner. For this reason, “on the one hand, we must react to the dangers associated with false information and the propaganda of online disinformation even if the specific contents are not illegal; on the other hand, we asked online platforms to be more active and quick in withdrawing illegal content starting with terrorist propaganda.