Google has told the European Union (EU) that it will not implement fact-checking in its search results and YouTube videos or use it to influence content ranking and removal decisions, reports Axios. The report says the tech giant has sent a letter to Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director General of the European Commission’s content and technology division. In the letter, Google’s global affairs president Kent Walker explained that incorporating fact-checking as required under the EU’s new Disinformation Code of Practice is “not appropriate or effective” for Google’s services.
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Walker also confirmed that Google will not adopt these commitments.
Why EU wants Google to add fact check
EU’s Disinformation Code of Practice, first introduced in 2018 and updated in 2022, outlines voluntary commitments for tech companies to combat misinformation. The proposed code mandates platforms like Google to display fact-checks in search results and YouTube videos, while integrating them into ranking algorithms.
Why Google is denying
Google has consistently avoided using fact-checking in its content moderation strategies.
In the letter, Walker defended the company’s existing measures, pointing to their success during recent global elections as evidence of their effectiveness. He emphasized that Google will not adopt the fact-checking commitments under the EU’s code and will instead withdraw from any fact-checking obligations before they are formalized under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Despite rejecting fact-checking requirements, Google plans to continue refining its existing content moderation practices. Walker highlighted features like SynthID watermarking and AI transparency tools on YouTube, which aim to provide users with better context about their search results and video content.
Google will “pull out of all fact-checking commitments in the Code before it becomes a DSA Code of Conduct,” he wrote. In the letter, Walker also highlighted YouTube’s feature launched last year that allows users to add contextual notes to videos, similar to X’s Community Notes and Meta’s recent initiatives.
