As outlined in the Joint report, “the small number of very powerful private actors that literally own the information highways have commercial interests and rights that tend to collide with both civil and political rights and electoral principles. These internet providers have taken up the gatekeeping role which originally belonged to the traditional media, without however having adopted the ethical obligations of the media. Private technology companies are thus censoring content which they consider ‘harmful’, without them being accountable and their measures being transparent. It is true that social platforms have recently adopted a series of measures for preventing false news and limiting their spread particularly during electoral periods. […] However, this is done on a voluntary and unregulated basis, without a recognised rule of law-based framework.”