Google has notified the European Union that it will not integrate work from fact-checking organizations into Search or YouTube, ahead of the bloc's plans to expand disinformation laws. This move comes as a surprise, given that Google had previously signed a set of voluntary commitments introduced by the EU in 2022 to reduce the impact of online disinformation.

The EU's Code of Practice on Disinformation, which Google is now withdrawing from, commits signatories to work with fact-checkers in all EU countries, make their work available to users in all EU languages, and cut financial incentives for spreading disinformation on their platforms. The code also compels companies to make it easier for users to recognize, understand, and flag disinformation, alongside labeling political ads and analyzing fake accounts, bots, and malicious deep fakes that spread disinformation.

In a letter written to the European Commission's content and technology czar Renate Nikolay, Google's global affairs president Kent Walker affirmed that Google won't commit to the fact-checking requirement as it "simply isn't appropriate or effective for our services." Walker also stated that Google will "pull out of all fact-checking commitments in the Code" before the rules become law in the DSA Code of Conduct.

This pushback from Google comes at a time when US tech companies, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, have been courting President-elect Donald Trump, with Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg urging him directly to combat EU regulatory enforcement. It remains to be seen how this move will impact the relationship between the EU and US tech giants.

Currently, fact-checking isn't part of Google's content moderation practices. The company had objected to some of the code's requirements in its agreement, saying that "Search and YouTube will endeavour to reach agreements with fact-checking organizations in line with this measure, but services will not have complete control over this process."

Notably, 40 online platforms have signed the code, including Microsoft, TikTok, Twitch, and Meta — despite the latter scrapping its fact-checking program in the US earlier this month. Twitter (now X) was also a signatory but pulled out after Elon Musk purchased the platform. According to the European Fact-Checking Standards Network, many of the other digital platforms that signed the voluntary disinformation code have been lax about fulfilling their commitments.

The implications of Google's withdrawal from the fact-checking commitments are still unclear. EU lawmakers have been in discussions with signatories regarding which commitments they will agree to follow. The Commission has yet to announce when the code will officially become law, having said in November that it's expected to come into force by January 2025 "at the earliest."

As the EU continues to navigate the complex landscape of online disinformation, Google's decision to reject fact-checking commitments raises important questions about the role of tech companies in regulating online content. Will other tech giants follow Google's lead, or will they continue to work with the EU to combat disinformation? Only time will tell.