The EU has ordered Facebook to take further action against fake news. Andrus Ansip, EU Digital Chief, told the Financial Times in an interview that unless platforms such as Facebook took more responsibility they could risk losing users' trust. He said that he was concerned about the impact of fake news, and that whilst self-regulation was important, the EU would be ready to enforce “clarifications” if needed. Ansip added that the code of conduct for hate speech signed by companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google could work as an example as to the measures which might be taken. The European Commission has since said that any steps taken by social media to tackle the issue would be “followed closely”. Previously, Facebook released a blog post saying that it would be clamping down on fake news stories, which it described as “clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain”.Â
