Google's Kent Walker Rejects EU Fact-Checking Under Digital Services Act

Jan 16, 2025, 06:48 PM

Google has informed the European Union that it will not incorporate fact-checking into its search results or YouTube videos, nor will it use fact-checks for content ranking or removal, despite the requirements of a new EU law. This decision was communicated in a letter to the European Commission's Deputy Director General, Renate Nikolay, where Google's global affairs president, Kent Walker, stated that fact-checking is 'simply not appropriate or effective' for Google's services. Google has never included fact-checking as part of its content moderation practices and plans to withdraw from all fact-checking commitments before they become legally binding under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). Walker cited the successful content moderation during the 2022 elections as evidence of the effectiveness of Google's current approach. The company also highlighted YouTube's new feature allowing users to add contextual notes to videos. Google intends to continue investing in its current content moderation practices, which include features like Synth ID watermarking and AI disclosures on YouTube.