Reports have it, that according to a recent proposal of the UK
authorities, social media executives shall be personally blamable for the harmful
content on their platforms.
The freshly published paper
in which the details were mentioned is just a tactic to restrict the spread of
violent and detrimental content related to suicides and cyber bullying.
Disinformation, is another
theme eluded upon along with the rising need for companies to hold their ground
against terroristic, child abusive, and sexually abusive content.
The regulations and
guidelines in the aforementioned paper also mention the requirement for every
individual regulator to impose the rules.
Its’s high time, the online
companies took responsibility for what content their platforms displayed, in an
attempt to reinstate trust in technology within the society.
Files hosting sites, chat
forums, messaging services, search engines and social media platforms alike
will come under the belt of the aforementioned measures.
If not adhered to, the
policies also mention within them strong punishments for companies including substantial
fines and blocking access.
This is a great action which
has potential to bring change. The implementation although could not be as
simple as it all sounds.
The above-mentioned set of
guidelines would provide for a stable code of conduct for everyone on the social
media which if complied to, will lead to safer platforms.
But, the implementation, is
still in question along with other questions like, Will the regulatory approach
be different for smaller companies?
Social media regulation and
the improvements it requires is on everyone’s mind, of late because of the
mosque shooting in New Zealand.
The shooting was live
streamed on Facebook and other social media sites like Instagram, YouTube and
etc. were rushed to block and delete the copies of the video which has
instantly gone viral.
A legislation not very
different from the one in UK that was discussed above was passed in Australia meaning
to hold the executives responsible for whatever is posted on their platforms.