European authorities are stepping up their campaign against what they label “disinformation,” as calls grow from within the EU’s institutional framework to expand regulatory powers over online content and digital platforms.
At the forefront is Oliver Röpke, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), who is urging tighter enforcement of the EU’s sweeping censorship mechanism, the Digital Services Act (DSA), and calling for more aggressive oversight of artificial intelligence.
Framing the issue as a direct challenge to democratic systems, Röpke claims that coordinated disinformation efforts are being waged both by foreign interests and local actors, with particularly harmful impacts on vulnerable populations. “We know that they are spreading in a coordinated manner disinformation and misinformation within our countries, the European Union, but they all work often hand-in-hand with domestic actors,” he told the European Newsroom.
He went on to argue that marginalized communities are frequent targets in these campaigns, which, he says, erode public confidence in democratic institutions. In response, the EESC has rolled out initiatives like “Citizens can defeat disinformation,” promoting what it calls grassroots resistance to online manipulation.
But the solution Röpke favors is far from bottom-up. He is calling for Big Tech companies to be bound even more tightly to EU regulation under the DSA, which he defends as a tool not of censorship but of structured debate. “I think it’s not about censoring opinions. On the contrary, it is to ensure a free debate – a free debate based on facts and on well-informed actors,” Röpke said.
He also wants to see the EU develop its own digital giants, aligned with European regulatory priorities, to compete with dominant global tech firms.
His vision includes expanding the bloc’s AI governance regime, building on the 2024 AI Act. Although that legislation introduced tiered risk-based controls for AI deployment, Röpke believes additional safeguards are needed. “We have to create a regulatory environment which is technology-open and friendly, but at the same time we have to insist on certain rules,” he stated, stressing that AI must serve ethical, not merely commercial, goals.
Meanwhile, environment ministers gathered in Warsaw to hash out strategies for combating what they see as a wave of misinformation tied to climate policy. The recent massive blackout that left large parts of Spain and Portugal without electricity gave fresh ammunition to online speculation, which officials swiftly labeled as “disinformation.”
Poland’s environment minister, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, described the flood of commentary as part of a broader pattern. “In recent months we’ve had more targeted disinformation used for political purposes, very often by our political adversaries,” she said following the meeting.
While the DSA is already in effect, Hennig-Kloska suggested it falls short. According to her, EU governments currently lack “effective measures to combat disinformation.” She confirmed that the environment ministers had agreed on the need for stronger tools and that the next stage would be engagement with the European Commission.
Underpinning much of this is the belief that foreign governments are engaged in information warfare aimed at destabilizing Europe’s climate and energy agenda.