A proposal in the Lithuanian parliament sees introducing criminal liability for disinformation spread by so-called troll or bot farms.
Conservative MP Laurynas Kasčiūnas, who chairs the National Security and Defence Committee, told other members he drafted the respective amendments to the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public and to the Criminal Code.
He proposes that the dissemination of disinformation by “manipulating an Internet platform” should be punishable by up to three years in prison.
According to the MP, hundreds of thousands of fake bot accounts are used to spread disinformation and influence the public.
Viktoras Daukšas, head of the Debunk.org disinformation analysis centre, told the committee that “bots are a significant problem both in Lithuania and in the EU, but it is not being properly dealt with”.
Lithuanian websites are now being attacked by bot farms operating from Nigeria and the Philippines, he said.
According to Daukšas, when social networks are informed about fake malicious accounts, they are usually not removed and continue to spread disinformation.
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