The initiative focuses on enforcing EU digital rules, requiring social media platforms to address misinformation on their networks.
“Some of the weakest language” is in these areas—”as expected given the pressure from the new U.S. administration, but it’s a dangerous precedent for the EU,” said Emma Quaedvlieg, policy manager at the European Partnership for Democracy.
Several platforms are under investigation by the EU’s Digital Services Act, but no final decisions have been made. This includes X, whose billionaire owner Elon Musk criticized the bloc in a jab at von der Leyen on Wednesday.
The proposal highlights the extent of disinformation campaigns affecting elections. However, many of the Commission’s solutions remain optional, including the main feature: a hub to share expertise on foreign interference and misinformation called the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, as reported by POLITICO before the announcement.
The Commission has not finalized the structure of the center, and a senior official stated that it hasn’t been determined which part of the EU’s institutions will oversee it, a key issue in discussions.
Swedish conservative MEP Tomas Tobé said the proposal “is a timely and thorough overview” of where the EU must act, but the Commission should “take additional steps in its ambition regarding actual reforms.” Tobé, from von der Leyen’s political family, leads the European Parliament’s report on the plans.
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