Amid European elections, EU urges internet giants, trade associations to curb fake news

The EU on Tuesday urged advertising trade associations and US internet giants to intensify the fight against disinformation campaigns from suspects such as Russia, ahead of European elections in May.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said Google, Facebook, Twitter, Mozilla and trade associations have made "some progress" by removing fake accounts and checking suspect sites. "But we need to go further and faster before May," when a new European Parliament is elected, the EU's security commissioner Julian King said.