Social Media: Self-regulation vs. Government regulation

Many of us have seen the Netflix documentaries The Social Dilemma or The Great Hack. Both documentaries give a glimpse into the complexity, and challenges we face with social media’s influence over our minds and decision making abilities. The problems that social media companies have created is complex and multifaceted. The article by Bill Curry recognizes that social media companies interests and the public’s interest do not align.

The question is what do we do?

First, in my view it is important to place this within a Canadian context. A recent report came out that proposed a new federal regulator should be created to ensure social media companies have strong moderation of content, and comply with a new duty to act responsibly.

Federal regulation on social media brings many fears of censorship, and the loss of freedom of expression. Many of us have peers who believe that COVID-19 is a government conspiracy to control the masses. Would it be an improvement if Facebook or the Federal government told them it was untrue? This seems rather unlikely. In my view, it is important to place symptoms of the problem and the problem in two different conceptual categories. Conspiracy theories on COVID-19 and anti-vaxxers are better viewed as symptoms of allowing technology companies to try to keep users online at all costs. The problem is the disconnect between the interests of social media companies and the public interest in communication.

The article lays out two different perspectives on regulation. First is the regulation of content, which for many seems untenable and dangerous. The second form is regulation of the system in which these social media organizations operate. The proposal is to force them to be more transparent about how they enforce their own content rules and how they approach illegal posts. The report proposes to place massive fines, penalties and possible jail time for the executives to ensure compliance.

In my view, regulating these companies rather than focusing on the content is far more appropriate for the Federal Government of Canada. This is an approach that many Canadians can support. First, it means that there is separation kept between freedom of expression and government influence. Second, it offers more transparency for users of social media platforms. Third, it places more of the onus on the social media companies, which hopefully means less financial cost on the taxpayer.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-report-calls-for-powerful-new-federal-body-to-regulate-social-media/

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