Fake news is being discussed intensively at the EU level and in many member states.

At EU level, the European Commission launched a consultation to seek views on an EU strategy “to tackle the spreading of fake news” that should be presented in the spring.

The Commission also appointed in January 2018 the experts of the High-Level Group to advise it on defining the problem and finding solutions. The European Parliament and the EU’s diplomatic service (EEAS) are also discussing fake news.

At national level, Cullen International's research shows that so far, only Germany has adopted a law to force the large social networks and video sharing platforms to take down “obviously illegal” content, including fake news. But in many countries, there are debates and initiatives on fake news. Italy is clearly more inclined to move towards a self-regulatory approach, whereas France announced the adoption of a law which would only cover fake news during election campaigns.

It is interesting to note that in five countries (France, Poland, Italy, Sweden and the UK) a special role is or could be played either by the regulatory authority in charge of audiovisual service providers, or by a newly created authority or special government unit.

The full benchmark has been published in the scope of our European Digital Economy and Media services.