On 15-16 March 2022, the Committee of Experts on the integrity of online information (MSI-INF) held its first meeting (online). The Committee is composed of 13 members, comprising seven member States’ representatives, designated by the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI), and six independent experts, appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, with recognised expertise related to freedom of expression and information, online information environment and digital platform economy and design.

The Committee of Experts is tasked with preparing, by the end of 2023, of a draft guidance note on countering the spread of online mis- and disinformation through fact-checking and platform design solutions in a human rights compliant manner.

The Committee of Experts elected Ms Elisabeth Lambert, Head of Counter Online Manipulation, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, United Kingdom as Chair of the MSI-INF, and Mr Hrvoje Lisičar, Chair of Information Technology Law, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia, as Vice-Chair.

Committee members and other participants had very constructive discussions on the scope, elements and structure of the future guidance note. Mr Ronan Ó Fathaigh, Senior researcher, Institute for Information Law (IViR), Faculty of Law, University of Amsterdam, Ms Sophie Lecheler, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Communication, University of Vienna and Mr Cristian Vaccari, Professor of Political Communication and Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture, Loughborough University were designated as drafting rapporteurs. For further information, see the MSI-INF website.