The Commission set up the East StratCom Task Force in 2015 to counter internal and external disinformation threats. The EESC encourages the Commission to be more proactive in communicating the results of the work of the StratCom Task Force to the general public (for example, by promoting its website) and to increase its budget. Key outstanding issues However, a number of important issues remain unaddressed, as the Commission document does not mention possible actions to ensure the fundamental right of citizens to qualitative and reliable information, for example: support schemes for traditional media; establishing public-private partnerships willing to create paid but safe online platforms; creating more transparency around and possibly monitoring the algorithms behind the online systems; breaking apart online monopolies to restore a level playing field for fair competition. The EU should therefore continue to assess the impact of disinformation in Europe and monitor Europeans' resilience to disinformation in future Eurobarometer surveys.
The Commission set up the East StratCom Task Force in 2015 to counter internal and external disinformation threats. The EESC encourages the Commission to be more proactive in communicating the results of the work of the StratCom Task Force to the general public (for example, by promoting its website) and to increase its budget. Key outstanding issues However, a number of important issues remain unaddressed, as the Commission document does not mention possible actions to ensure the fundamental right of citizens to qualitative and reliable information, for example: support schemes for traditional media; establishing public-private partnerships willing to create paid but safe online platforms; creating more transparency around and possibly monitoring the algorithms behind the online systems; breaking apart online monopolies to restore a level playing field for fair competition. The EU should therefore continue to assess the impact of disinformation in Europe and monitor Europeans' resilience to disinformation in future Eurobarometer surveys.
web_story_-_online_disinformation_-_en_0.docx