Fake news and pro-Russia propaganda, chamber calls for iron fist on Facebook and X, Italians are divided

Brussels – European crackdown on social media: EU Parliament says “yes” in unity while Italians are divided. In the resolution that the chamber approved by a large majority (480 votes in favour, 58 against and 48 abstentions), action is called for against the intention of Meta and X to relax their rules on content verification and moderation . A dutiful hard line because, it is reported, “this could allow Russia’s disinformation campaign to spread further around the world.” The Lega, however, abstains, while the 5-Star Movement and Sinistra Italiana oppose.

It is difficult to understand the real reasons for voting on a text encompassing anything and everything. There is not only a call for firmness against Internet overlords Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) and Elon Musk (X); there is also a call to intensify the fight against Russian propaganda through “media literacy and support for quality information channels and professional journalism.” The non-binding text also calls for an EU-wide ban on the use and dissemination of Nazi and Soviet communist symbols.

Many elements to say “yes” or “no” to an inevitably divisive proposal.

The political goal remains censorship against Russia, pointed at as today’s evil. In the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, a role is likely to be played by the dissemination of messages and content on the Internet, which sees the chamber enjoining the European Commission and member states to “strictly apply” the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), “an important element of the fight against Russian disinformation.” It would mean attacking the person responsible for cutting government spending in the Trump administration, after that the chamber already split on X’s patron, Elon Musk.