European Commission urges Google to promote independent Belarusian media

January 8, Pozirk. The European Commission urged Google and other major tech companies to help independent Belarusian media “by promoting their stories higher than those published by pro-regime outlets,” The Financial Times (FT) reported.

Exiled Belarusian journalists reportedly complained to the European authorities that publications critical of Alaksandar Łukašenka’s regime do not reach their target audiences as search engines prioritize state-run media over content banned by the government.

“Fighting disinformation and promoting media freedom are two sides of the same coin – and we want Big Tech to do both,” FT quoted the European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová as saying.

“This means ensuring the visibility of trustworthy information online, not the propaganda of Minsk or the Kremlin.”

Google News is not available in the Belarusian language, limiting access to local news online for Belarusians, FT noted.

Western tech companies such as Google and Meta “have become tools for a totalitarian and authoritarian regime to put pressure on civil society instead of helping to promote independent media,” Natalla Bielikava of the exiled Belarusian Press Club said. 

Juozas Olekas, a Lithuanian MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Belarus, said that so far “Big Tech didn’t show any willingness or interest to address this problem.” Google’s algorithms treat the banned media as a “broken link” and downgrade them in search results, while Łukašenka’s media dominate the news, he added.