Social media desperately needs regulation

As I've said elsewhere, people who incite violence bear a measure of responsibility : they will be able to persuade some people but not others. They don't carry the entire blame, but some. With the possible exception of extreme hermits, no-one is entirely and solely responsible for their own actions. That is simply not how people work.
(see also https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RhysTaylorRhysy/posts/GF94NRDYNuJ)

If a company discerns that its service is being used to promote violence, and has the capacity to act but doesn't, then it too bears some measure of responsibility. Again, not the whole measure, but some. Note that "responsibility" does not necessarily imply that all violence is bad, but I'm not going to go there.

Social media is still so young that we're comparing it to traditional forms of media. This is a mistake. It's not like writing a letter to your friend and expecting a reply maybe a week later, or even having a chat on the phone. Neither of those are effective ways of meeting new people or communicating with entire groups. It also allows for full audio-visual messages which enormously increase the scope for manipulation, never mind personally targeted advertising or feed prioritising. None of that is present with the media traditionally accessible by the public.

Social media doesn't need to be banned, but good God it needs to be regulated. Future generations will look back in horror to an era when anyone could say whatever they liked, no matter how hateful or threatening, without consequence and regardless of audience size. They won't see it as some sort of mythical golden era, they'll see it as an absurd misjudgement. They'll scratch their heads and say things like, "Wait, you're saying they thought that allowing the promotion of racial hatred was somehow good for freedom of speech ? That regulation would become a slippery slope because what now ?"

Though if they were feeling charitable, they might pause and say, "Ah, I see they were also trying to ban pornography and movie downloads. Wow, they really were a messed-up bunch."


Facebook has said it agrees with a report that found it had failed to prevent its platform being used to "incite offline violence" in Burma. The independent report, commissioned by Facebook, said the platform had created an "enabling environment" for the proliferation of human rights abuse. It comes after widespread violence against the Rohingya minority which the UN has said may amount to genocide. The report said Facebook would have to "get it right" before 2020 elections.

Facebook has more than 18 million users in Burma. For many, the social media site is their main or only way of getting and sharing news. The network said it had made progress in tackling its problems in Burma but that there was "more to do".

The new report was commissioned after the UN accused Facebook of being "slow and ineffective" in its response to the spread of hatred online. The 62-page independent report from non-profit organisation Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) found that the platform "has become a means for those seeking to spread hate and cause harm" in Burma. A minority of users are seeking to exploit Facebook as a platform to undermine democracy and incite offline violence."

It said Facebook should more strictly enforce its existing policies on hate speech, introduce a "stand-alone human rights policy" and better engage with authorities in Burma. The report - which only briefly referenced the Rohingya specifically - also warned that the 2020 elections presented a serious risk of further human rights abuses and warned Facebook to prepare now for "multiple eventualities".
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46105934