EU reaches landmark deal on hate speech, disinformation

By KELVIN CHAN and RAF CASERT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has reached a landmark deal to take aim at hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content online that would force big tech companies to police themselves harder, make it easier for users to flag problems and empower regulators to punish noncompliance with billions in fines. EU officials finally clinched the agreement in principle in the early hours of Saturday over the final details of the Digital Services Act. It will overhaul the digital rulebook for 27 countries and cement Europe’s reputation as the global leader in reining in the power of social media companies and other digital platforms, such as Facebook, Google and Amazon.