Dutch MPs Reportedly Urge Abolition of EU vs Disinfo Anti-Disinformation Service

Thứ Ba, 06/03/2018, 20:42

Dutch lawmakers moved a parliamentary motion asking the country's Interior Minister Kajsa Ollongren to exert pressure on Brussels to abolish its anti-disinformation task force EU vs Disinfo as it fails to fulfill its mission and threatens the country's media freedom, local media said Tuesday.

According to the DutchNews.nl online news platform, the motion was initiated by the Dutch ruling People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Socialist Party. The proposal has also been supported by the Party for Freedom, the GroenLinks green party and the Calvinist Reformed Political Party.

The motion will be voted on in the country's parliament later on Tuesday.

EU vs Disinfo is a party to proceedings involving three Dutch media outlets that filed a lawsuit against the fake news debunking service in February, after the EU body claimed they disseminated fake news.

The Dutch blog GeenStijl, populist website The Post Online, and De Persgroep publishing company demanded that EU vs Disinfo should remove the accusations and face a fine of 20,000 euros ($24,700) per day if the claims remain on its website.

GeenStijl and The Post Online were removed from the list of disinforming outlets after the start of legal proceedings, however, the media outlet still demand an official rectification.

Sputnik