CBC joins coalition of tech giants to ‘combat disinformation’ on the internet

The creation of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity was announced on Monday and includes big tech companies such as Microsoft and Intel as well as other broadcasters such as BBC, CBC's British equivalent.

The coalition was inspired by work done by the BBC with other big tech giants such as Google and Facebook.

The coalition will "address the prevalence of disinformation, misinformation and online content fraud through developing technical standards for certifying the source and history or provenance of media content" according to a press release.

"Disinformation is a global challenge. We need global solutions. CBC/Radio-Canada is working with like-minded media and technology partners to strengthen measures to fight disinformation, as part of our ongoing work to ensure Canadians have access to trusted sources of news and information."

CBC has taken other initiatives with the goal of combatting "misinformation" online. In 2020, the state broadcaster created a registry in coordination with the lobbyist group News Media Canada which directs users to "trusted" media outlets. The registry focuses on local publications.

The creation of the registry raised questions of what CBC would consider to be "trusted," with many local outlets complaining that they have been excluded from the registry.

The announcement comes as the federal government considers new initiatives to regulate the online sphere. Such regulations include forcing tech giants to pay news outlets for using their content in a proposal which is expected to be modelled after recent legislation in Australia.

The government is also expected to be implementing new legislation to combat hate speech online.