Debate: Democratic scrutiny of social media and the protection of fundamental rights
Date: WEDNESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2021
Speaker: Věra Jourová
Language: EN

Social media has transformed the way we communicate with each other, debate on political issues or do campaigning. There are a lot of new opportunities, but also a lot of problems. With the recent attack on the Capitol, we’ve got a tangible yet tragic proof that many people have simply lost trust in democratic institutions. Going online only exacerbated many of the existing problems and cleavages in our societies. The US events are the moment of reckoning, also because they reminded us of the power Twitter, Facebook and other technological corporations possess. The fact that they can permanently remove an account of a sitting president based on vague criteria and unclear oversight is really worrying.  Even though, I believe President Trump’s irresponsible incitement to violence deserved action, it is high time to reign in the unchecked power of the digital corporations. Whatever we do, we must uphold the principle of freedom of speech. I do not want to create the ministry of or arbiter of truth. This is the main principle. So what can we do? First, we need tougher regulation, more enforceable obligations and to increase the responsibility of digital players. We have recently proposed the Digital Services Act, that will increase accountability of online platforms and clarify the rules for taking down illegal content, including hate speech and incitement to violence. This is a ground-breaking proposal, and will also give us the tools for stronger monitoring and enforcement of the obligations of online platforms. We need these rules urgently and we are ready to work together with you and the Member States to quickly adopt this law. What can we do already now, while waiting for the Digital Services Act to become law? We can equip ourselves already now with better tools to fight disinformation and harmful content. The European Democracy Action Plan is our map of what we should do next in this respect. We can already now strike a new pact against disinformation with better accountability of algorithms and no arbitrary decisions by big online platforms. We can and should have more transparency of their policies and access to relevant data. In the Digital Services Act we moved away from assessing harmful content and focused on the manipulative techniques of online distribution. We need to go more in detail on this – paid promotion and paid likes, reactions from fake accounts, bots can be particularly dangerous for democracy, notably during elections. This is why I will propose new regulation on online political advertising.  And freedom of speech is not the same as freedom of reach. Regulation alone will not, and in my view should not, address all the details of digital life. When I talked to Mark Zuckerberg and other CEOs of the Big Tech, we discussed solutions that go beyond regulation because we must not sacrifice freedom of expression, which requires open space, be it online or offline.  They cannot judge and evaluate every piece of content posted on them. This is why we need to reshape the thinking of tech companies and tech workers. Architects follow not only law but also ethical codes to ensure that the buildings they design are safe for people. Coders and IT experts should have a similar approach when designing their algorithms, something I rarely hear from the tech executives. And third, we cannot focus on social media platforms alone. We need to make our education fit for digital reality. We all have to become more digitally literate, understand the basics of what is happening online and why we are seeing certain content. This will allow us to navigate safely online.  As a person coming, as many of you do, from an ex—totalitarian country, in my case communist Czechoslovakia, I have tasted life without democracy and freedom of speech. I believe we need to bring order to the digital expression of democracy and to end the digital Wild West. What is illegal offline must be illegal online, but we also have to work on restoring trust among citizens. Facts belong to everyone. Opinions belong to an individual. And this distinction has been damaged and can only be repaired if there is trust in science, in authorities and society. We all have a very important role to play in this as well.