Freedom of speech and the regulation of fake news in the European Union : the EU policy to tackle disinformation

Abstract

Disinformation has always existed. What has changed in recent years is the speed and the reach of its spread. Th e 2016 US elections and the 2019 UK elections brought the disinformation phenomenon to the attention of policymakers, researchers, experts and civil society organisations, but also to that of citizens. During the last few years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have confirmed, on a large scale, what was being said by the expert community, namely that the disinformation phenomenon is not confined to elections. To mention another example, the 2022 summer heatwaves were also a fertile field for disinformation narratives around climate change. Th e challenge in tackling online disinformation is that it is a policy exercise that needs to protect the democratic process, respect freedom of expression and information, and avoid a ‘ Ministry of Truth ’ : all this in a fast-evolving dimension where technology, tools, actors, vectors and disinformation strategies develop quickly.