From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act

The increasing political power of social media companies over the last two decades has sparked significant policy debates in the EU. We analyse the emerging regulatory struggle by focusing on one specific dimension: disinformation. The most influential initiative took place within the Digital Servic...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Oleart, Álvaro, Bouza García, Luis
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/752320
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/10486/752320
https://dx.doi.org/10.4000/14rse
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:social media
European Union
disinformation
public policy
Digital Services Act
big tech
Derecho
Política
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spelling From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services ActOleart, ÁlvaroBouza García, Luissocial mediaEuropean Uniondisinformationpublic policyDigital Services Actbig techDerechoPolíticaThe increasing political power of social media companies over the last two decades has sparked significant policy debates in the EU. We analyse the emerging regulatory struggle by focusing on one specific dimension: disinformation. The most influential initiative took place within the Digital Services Act (DSA), approved in 2022. This approach, characterised as ‘co-regulation’, breaks away from the EU’s previously dominant approach of self-regulation for digital platforms by trying to regulate with these platforms rather than leaving them to set their own policies. The best illustration of this approach is the second version of the Code of Practice on disinformation, which has been ultimately included within the DSA as a Code of Conduct in 2025. We ask: How did the European Commission come to adopt a co-regulatory approach to disinformation? Using data from public consultations, meetings with the Commission, and interviews, we conduct a process-tracing to uncover the genealogy of the EU's co-regulatory framework from the 2018 High Level Expert Group on Fake News and Disinformation (HLEG) until 2025. We conclude that preemptive cooperation by the platforms, as expressed in the HLEG and the Code of Conduct, has sidelined regulatory alternatives.International Public Policy AssociationFacultad de DerechoDepartamento de Ciencia Política y Relaciones InternacionalesEuropean Commission20252025-06-01research articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_2df8fbb1VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/10486/752320https://dx.doi.org/10.4000/14rsereponame:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAMinstname:Universidad Autónoma de MadridInglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/7523202026-06-23T12:46:27Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act
title From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act
spellingShingle From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act
Oleart, Álvaro
social media
European Union
disinformation
public policy
Digital Services Act
big tech
Derecho
Política
title_short From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act
title_full From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act
title_fullStr From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act
title_full_unstemmed From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act
title_sort From self to co-regulation in the EU’s approach to disinformation: the framing power of Big Tech business lobbies in the lead to the Digital Services Act
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Oleart, Álvaro
Bouza García, Luis
author Oleart, Álvaro
author_facet Oleart, Álvaro
Bouza García, Luis
author_role author
author2 Bouza García, Luis
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Facultad de Derecho
Departamento de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales
European Commission
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv social media
European Union
disinformation
public policy
Digital Services Act
big tech
Derecho
Política
topic social media
European Union
disinformation
public policy
Digital Services Act
big tech
Derecho
Política
description The increasing political power of social media companies over the last two decades has sparked significant policy debates in the EU. We analyse the emerging regulatory struggle by focusing on one specific dimension: disinformation. The most influential initiative took place within the Digital Services Act (DSA), approved in 2022. This approach, characterised as ‘co-regulation’, breaks away from the EU’s previously dominant approach of self-regulation for digital platforms by trying to regulate with these platforms rather than leaving them to set their own policies. The best illustration of this approach is the second version of the Code of Practice on disinformation, which has been ultimately included within the DSA as a Code of Conduct in 2025. We ask: How did the European Commission come to adopt a co-regulatory approach to disinformation? Using data from public consultations, meetings with the Commission, and interviews, we conduct a process-tracing to uncover the genealogy of the EU's co-regulatory framework from the 2018 High Level Expert Group on Fake News and Disinformation (HLEG) until 2025. We conclude that preemptive cooperation by the platforms, as expressed in the HLEG and the Code of Conduct, has sidelined regulatory alternatives.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025-06-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv research article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_2df8fbb1
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/10486/752320
https://dx.doi.org/10.4000/14rse
url https://hdl.handle.net/10486/752320
https://dx.doi.org/10.4000/14rse
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv International Public Policy Association
publisher.none.fl_str_mv International Public Policy Association
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
instname:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
instname_str Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
reponame_str Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
collection Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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