COUNTRIES in Southeast Asia have been planning to broaden their oversight of some of the most popular social media and messaging platforms to curb surges in online scams and harm against minors for some time now.
South East Asian countries have some of the world’s most engaged social media users, and analysts have been warning that this increase in the adoption of online services could lead to an increase in online scams.
This then leads us to this perennial question: should social media platforms be regulated?
This has been a question that has been debated vigorously over the years. In my humble opinion, they should be. The more difficult question is how to do this effectively.
Social media platforms have always contended that they are not responsible for what users produce and are thus exempt from the libel, defamation, and other laws and regulations that govern traditional media like newspapers and television.
In other words, they are platforms for free speech and assume no responsibility for what their users communicate. This claim is correct to the extent that they generally do not create most of their own content.
It is incorrect, however, to claim that they do not exercise editorial control over the content.
Traditional television and newspapers are what we call broadcast journalism, meaning that they provide the same content to a broad, general audience.
Social media platforms, by contrast, are “narrowcasters.” Given their ability to pinpoint who you are, their algorithms choose content exclusively for what they think you want to hear and see, making frequent, personalised editorial decisions based on your browsing behaviour on their platforms, other websites, and geolocation information taken from your online activity.
While it might be unfair to hold these platforms fully responsible, their effects on the rise of populism and fringe movements, as well as the divisive, tribalistic behaviour such as cyberbullying, often seen online, are a topic of serious concern globally.
Diversity of opinion is certainly positive and must be celebrated. But when platforms are not held responsible for the accuracy of the content they present, there is no incentive for them not to show you the most outrageous or fake.
Excessive social polarisation is undesirable as it erodes the very democratic institutions that protect free speech and other basic rights.
Without some basic consensus on the common objectives of social welfare, democracies eventually weaken and become dysfunctional.
Just like companies that are involved in chemical processing are required to abide by environmental regulations, the social cost associated with social media platforms should be controlled to mitigate its worse effects.
The real concern about social media platforms is that, by collecting so much demographic and behavioural data from our online activities, they have created a very precise digital model of who we are with significant predictive accuracy.
These profiles, our digital twins, or avatars, are being sold or shared to advertisers both in and outside their platforms. This is being done with little explicit knowledge or consent from their users, i.e., us.
Moreover, users have no rights over their metadata. The stark reality today is that in exchange for carrying out searches, networking and taking advantage of geolocation services, we as users have allowed these platforms into the most intimate corners of lives with little understanding of how or which of our secrets they sell.
This paradox has increased with the adoption of wearable technologies, the advent of AI, and increased network speeds.
Social media posts such as those that promote terrorism and hate, dangerous challenges that put teen lives at risk, those that glamorise suicide, and those who manipulate often unsuspecting users into getting scammed pose a significant threat to society.
And this harm spreads exponentially, like an infectious disease.
Social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and now X do not have much incentive to fight harmful content, as their business model is based on monetizing attention.
Alongside free speech, misinformation and disinformation spread and prosper in this unregulated space.
The consequences of social media platforms that function on a quasi-monopolistic scale are just now beginning to be understood.
They offer us many outstanding services that we could not imagine living without today. But, like many industries, there are undesirable consequences that work against great social welfare.
Serious conversations on how social media platforms should be regulated to minimise their social costs are critically needed.
By understanding the dynamics of content spread, optimising moderation efforts, and implementing regulations like the EU’s Digital Services Act, we can strive for a healthier and safer digital public square where harmful content is mitigated and constructive dialogue thrives.
And the recent announcement by the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) that all social media services and internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia must apply for a Class Licence beginning August 1 is a landmark and much-needed first step.
There will always be sceptics, but the government should require the social networks to have the proper transparency, tools, and policies, including monitoring and reporting illegal actions by third parties and users.
Social media platforms must be held accountable and realise that although it is easier to target improperly using these platforms, it is also easier to catch and prosecute with the right rules and tools to do so.
Accountability is not just a matter of regulating the social networks and advertisers. Our society of users must step up and take accountability as well.
Ultimately the most important and most critical need is for us, all of us who use these services, to go beyond just passively receiving information and believing it, to leveraging the power of these platforms to better review, question, understand, and make judgments about the information.
This applies to both the information we receive and the information we hand over about ourselves.
We must recognise the reality, power, and value of the digital and social media revolution.
That we have already gone beyond the past world of isolation and misconceived notions of privacy, some of which never really existed.
That our connected lives bring us more and give us more opportunity to be individuals and, at the same time, be part of something greater through dialogue and relationships.
As the users of these services, we cannot just passively hand over our information or passively believe whatever is thrown at us. Each of us must take charge of what is happening to and around us.
Shared responsibility must never be ignored or taken for granted. – July 28, 2024
Murugason R. Thangaratnam is Novem CS Sdn Bhd chief executive officer