Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee exchange of views with Commissioner Breton on "Ensuring effective approaches to fighting propaganda on online platforms and the role of the DSA in the light of the Russian aggression"

Brussels

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

exchange of views

troubles in Ukraine (T)

fight against hate speech, populism, and fake news on social media (T)

BRETON, Thierry (FR, EC)

Ensuring effective approaches to fighting propaganda on online platforms and the role of the DSA in the light of the Russian aggression - EP Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/20197431/1647443875099_I221313Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , Just to tell you little bit more about what we're doing in the fight against disinformation, which is, of course, very important for us here in Europe, but also for our Ukrainian friends. All of this takes place against a very gloomy backdrop, we're very worried. Most of the Commission meeting this morning was devoted to that. We talked about the impact in terms of migrants, depressed populations, disinformation, misinformation, hybrid attacks. Everything which is going on and of course, the tragedy, which our friends, the Ukrainian people, are going through.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , We're talking about total war. That's what we're dealing with, and at the same time, it's also a classic war with all the atrocities which go with that. And we've seen the impact of the Russian propaganda machine in Russia and beyond. This also gives us an idea of just how important information and news have become, the fact that it's become a new battlefield, which goes beyond the physical battlefield, which Ukraine has clearly become with all the deaths and displaced persons that leads to.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , So, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the journalists who are covering the war. Sadly, some of them have already lost their lives in a very worrying and terrible situation. The journalists are still there. They're out doing their job, informing us, telling us about the war, telling us about the situation.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , Moreover, we know that the news they're reporting on isn't available in Russia, 90% of people in Russia believe that there is no war, it's a special military operation, they've been told, which underlines the importance of their role in providing information and news. And of course, I would also like to reiterate our concern and our compassion for the families of these journalists who've died doing their job.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , We know that they've been targeted in the same way as the civilian population has. And as the Minister of Defence said recently, truth is being targeted, and that's quite unacceptable. Journalists are direct witnesses of Russian atrocities on the battlefield and their commitment to truth and telling the news and the truth has driven them, and they are, of course, one of the pillars of our democracy. So this war, this war of disinformation is nothing new. We've been talking about this for some years now.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , We're all very familiar now with the Russian disinformation machine. It's become a propaganda apparatus with instant chat functions, social media, and we've seen a whole series of attacks in the news and information space, as we call it. And to tackle this, we have to strengthen cooperation and partnership between European public authorities and the private sector.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , Together with my colleague, Mr Rugova, who I have been working in very close cooperation with, we're working in close cooperation with our counterparts in the Ukraine, we've been speaking on the phone, via internet platforms to express our support. Commission services, in particular the External Action Service, and myself have also been in close contact with the different platforms: Microsoft, Google and all the rest of them. Clearly, we're in ongoing contact with them, we speak to them on the phone and platforms constantly with a view to coordinating action. And up until now, I must say that we've been getting a good response on their part. It obviously is us asking them to do things rather than them asking us to do things, but I can confirm that the platforms are responding quickly and satisfactorily to our requests.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , It's not simple. Obviously, we can't simply carry on with business as usual. The fact is the war has broken out just beyond our borders. We have to act strongly and in an agile way, as we've done with Russia Today and Sputnik. And in order to react and respond quickly, we have included those outlets on the list of companies subjected to sanctions. We've also targeted a certain number of organisations which have been described by observers as factories for war, so it's essential for us to work at the European level with all media.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , This means all the various different outlets cable TV, satellite TV, internet. So we have to act. War is at our doors. But up until now, we've been united. And this unity further enhances the strength of the European Union's response, and we have to maintain that. Distribution platforms quickly stopped streaming of the outlets I've talked about and internet message applications have also been brought in line with checking up on that. These are unprecedented measures. We've never had this before.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , But I would like to reiterate, so as to avoid any doubt about this: we have no intention whatsoever of questioning freedom of the media or expression. Organise war propaganda doesn't come under the heading freedom of expression. Our sanctions are targeting war propaganda systems, targeting channels which are directed, which are controlled by the Russian power and which are conducting an organised campaign of disinformation with a clear objective, which is to destabilise our democracy and strengthen their military operation.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , We know that an independent and diverse media landscape is essential, we need to have different voices. The Media Freedom Act will give us an important opportunity to enhance the transparency and independence of European media operators. The rolling out of these sanctions will, of course, require contribution from everybody in the media and audiovisual sector. So we have existing codes of good practise, in particular to fight against dis- and misinformation in the current crisis.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , I think there are interesting lessons to be drawn when it comes to improving and strengthening the code and in the future we will ensure that will be reflected in the Digital Services Act, for example. We have to ensure that we have the right tools so as to enable us to tackle this hybrid threat. It's important that digital companies in the digital sector accept their responsibilities, in particular the platforms. They need to demonstrate that they're a position to act, so as to ensure that by refusing to move, they become a danger. So if they don't respond, they actually become vectors of propaganda.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , The message is starting to get through to them, I think. And so the thrust of our action now is to continue to put pressure on them. We have to find a way of doing this within the DSA. And I would like to thank you, Madame Chairman, and all the members of the European Parliament who've been working with you in the trialogue. And indeed, all the MEPs who've been working to try to find an agreement on this important piece of legislation.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , Obviously, this crisis is an enormous challenge for our digital governance. It demonstrates the importance of the European Union having the tools we need. The DSA is a piece of vertical legislation which will enable us to adopt a sectoral approach, including to misinformation, protecting fundamental rights against illegal online activity. In particular, we want to lead the fight against the use of algorithms.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , We've seen the way in which this propaganda is being broadcast in a viral way, thanks to algorithms. And we have to be sure we have the tools to respond appropriately to such situations were they to rise again. We spent a lot of time talking about the text. The war in Ukraine has brought about a step change in the situation. We've been asking, we've been wondering, whether further changes should be included in the DSA so as to enable us to better equip ourselves to cope with this new environment.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , And the text, which I hope will be adopted by the co-legislators, will enable us to adequately respond to the threat of the war. And yes, in this trialogue, for example, we agreed with the rapporteur stating that the Commission needs to properly analyse what's been done.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , Finally, and just to wind up, it's very important for us to try to protect our citizens and to ensure that we are able to guarantee access for our citizens to trusted information in particular in this war situation. I'm in constant contact with the media, with culture ministries. We've been hammering home the message that they've got an important role to play. The same would apply to the Russian population.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , Important media in neighbouring countries have been closed down and the journalists have been threatened. I think we've all seen the overwhelmingly powerful pictures of the journalist who went online on Russian TV to protest against the war and to call for truth. And we share the struggle, we have to do everything we can.

SOUNDBITE (French), Thierry BRETON, Commissioner for Internal Market , Madame Chairman, that's what I wanted to tell you. One final brief point: this war is clearly an attempt by Vladimir Putin to undermine and question our security architecture, which has obvious long term implications for the European project. We have to be in a position to respond powerfully and in an united way to this threat.