The European lawmakers are pressing major media and e-commerce platforms to share data with one another to fight the rogue traders targetting consumers with COVID-19 scams.
After the pandemic spread to the West, the internet platforms were flooded with local ads. However, Facebook banned these ads.
The main concern here isn’t that consumers are being ripped off. However, the real harm is if people buy a kind of product that doesn’t provide the protection claimed against the virus.
According to the commission, Reynders had a meeting with around 11 platforms, which include Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Alibaba, Rakuten, and Verizon Media, to discuss the latest trends and practices linked to the pandemic.
This year in March, the EU Member States adopted a common position on the issue. The Commission and network of consumers have been in direct contact with 11 platforms.
The Commission states that the platform has lead to the removal of millions of illegal offers and ads. It also states that it has confirmed what it describes as a decline in the new coronavirus-related listings.
In a speech last week, the Commission VP Margrethe Vesteger stated that the Digital Services Act (DSA) will force the platforms to deal with dangerous and illegal products. This includes standardizing processes to report illegal content and dealing with the complaints related to the content.
The Commission has also pressed for the social media platform to tell about what it called the COVID-19. They want to do a complete crackdown against the COVID-19 scams. However, the pandemic isn’t stopping any time soon.
Today, the commission provided updates regarding the actions taken in September by Facebook. It wants to fight the disinformation, publishing its third set or reports.
“The viral spreading of disinformation regarding the pandemic puts the safety of the whole citizens at risk. We need far better collaboration with the online platforms in the coming weeks to fight the coronavirus disinformation.”
The legally binding transparency rules for the platform to tackle content are part of the DSA package. However, no one knows how the disinformation issue of public health will be tackled.
In a pointed remark regarding the monitoring reports of the company, Vera Jourova, the VP for transparency, stated, “Platforms need to step up the efforts and become more accountable and transparent. We need an amazing framework to help them do the right thing.”
