§4 NEXT STEPS AND CONCLUSION
71. The Commission is committed to vigorously enforcing Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, including in the area of elections. These guidelines help providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs with the application of Article 35 of that regulation, in particular in relation to how to assess and mitigate systemic risks for electoral processes that stem from their service or use thereof. In view of numerous upcoming elections and not least those to the European Parliament, the Commission strongly encourages providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs to implement these guidelines quickly and comprehensively and welcomes assessments from researchers and civil society organisations on the effectiveness of the risk mitigation measures taken by the providers of these VLOPs and VLOSEs in the EU. 72. At the same time, in particular given the early stage of implementation of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, and the specific nature of systemic risks to electoral processes, the Commission stands ready to engage with providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs concerning the design and functioning of their services and related systems to ensure harm to electoral processes in the EU is avoided. 73. In this context, the Commission is available to facilitate a periodic review of the risk mitigation measures adopted by providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs on a voluntary basis. This could take the form of ex ante and ex post reviewing after specific elections. The feedback provided by the Commission in that context will be based on the information provided by the providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs and would not constitute a fully-fledged assessment of the compliance measures they had adopted. As such, it is without prejudice to the Commission’s investigatory and enforcement powers pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065. 74. Under Article 64 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the Commission will continue to develop expertise and capabilities on systemic and emerging issues across the EU. Information from VLOPs and VLOSEs is crucial in this regard. The Commission expects providers of such services to engage with the Commission in the frame of the enforcement of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 in readiness dialogues on election integrity and other cooperation structures set up by the Commission services responsible for the enforcement of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 for these purposes, to be able to respond quickly to urgent requests for information in particular on emerging issues and incidents that can have a significant impact on the election outcome or turnout. This does not preclude engagement in any other established cooperation mechanisms or protocols that may exist. 75. As mentioned in section 1.1. in more detail, the risk-mitigation measures identified in these guidelines are based on previous readiness dialogues on election integrity with providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs, the experience gained with the Code of Practice on Disinformation and the EU FIMI Toolbox, the exploratory consultation, various round tables and input from Digital Services Coordinators. As such, the measures outlined in the guidelines can be considered as best practices at this moment in time. 76. While the objective of this guidance is to support providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs in ensuring compliance with their obligations under Article 35 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the Commission’s understanding of the issues at stake in the interpretation and implementation of Article 35 of that Regulation may evolve with further experience. 77. In addition, the fast-evolving landscape in which providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs operate, and the tactics of malicious actors are constantly changing, thereby requiring constant updates and adjustments to respond to the ever-changing and newly emerging challenges. Moreover, once assessed by the Commission and the European Board for Digital Services, the Code of Practice on Disinformation is expected to be converted into a Code of Conduct tying it to the legal framework of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065. In this context, the Commission expects signatories to continue implementing their commitments to address disinformation under the Code of Practice on Disinformation. At the same time, additional pieces of EU legislation are set to come into force in the months to come and complement this Regulation with specific rules relevant for the subject matter of these guidelines, notably the Regulation on Political Advertising and the AI Act (the relevant content of which has been taken into account in these guidelines, in particular when it constitutes, already now, best practice in a specific area). 78. The Commission may review these guidelines in view of practical experience gained and the pace of technological, societal and regulatory developments in this area. During such a review the Commission may decide to withdraw or amend the present Communication. The Commission encourages providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs, Digital Services Coordinators, the research community and civil society organisations to contribute to this process. ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3014/oj ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07