Google announced its intention Thursday to flout European Union standards for digital fact-checking, opting not to build an internal department to moderate and verify YouTube content despite requirements from a new law.

Google has officially rejected the European Union 's (EU) demand to include fact-checks in its Search results and YouTube videos. The tech giant also said it will not modify or remove content based on fact-checking results, Axios reported.

New EU regulations call for Google to include fact-checking results alongside Google and Youtube searches. Google is refusing to meet the guidelines.

Google has reportedly conveyed to the European Union (EU) that it will not add fact-checking features to search results and YouTube videos. This clearly indicates that Google will not commit to implementing measures against misinformation as demanded by the EU.

Other signatories to the voluntary code set up in May 2016 are Dailymotion, Instagram, Jeuxvideo.com, LinkedIn, Microsoft hosted consumer services, Snapchat, Rakuten Viber, TikTok and Twitch

The pushback comes as the emboldened leaders of US tech companies, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, have been courting President-elect Donald Trump, with Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg urging him directly to combat EU regulatory enforcement.

After Mark Zuckerberg's big announcement that Meta will no longer fact check, Google is also sending a message to the European Union: The search giant is opting out of a new EU law that requires fact checks.

Top tech companies like X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have signed a voluntary commitment to make efforts to prevent illegal hate speech (as defined by European Union laws) on their platforms in the EU.

Meta's Facebook, Elon Musk's X, Google's YouTube and other tech companies have agreed to do more to tackle online hate speech under an updated code of conduct that will now be integrated into EU tech rules, the European Commission said on Monday.

Google snubs EU's voluntary code of practice on disinformation before it becomes legally binding under the Digital Services Act

If the trend becomes entrenched, the Commission would need to reconsider its fact-checking demands, a source told Euractiv