Road to 5**：EU introduce Digital Services Act
【明報專訊】The European Union has announced the Digital Services Act draft, which will require ten technology giants, including Alibaba and ByteDance, to assume greater responsibility for network management and step up efforts to eliminate hate speech and curb the spread of fake information. This amendment is regarded as the biggest reform of the EU's network supervision rules in the past 20 years, and the new legislation will present challenges to technology enterprises – such as Google and Facebook - in the US.
◆News summary
The Digital Services Act will target large online platforms with over 45 million users, requiring them to tackle issues such as illegal content, the abuse of platforms resulting in infringements of fundamental human rights and the deliberate manipulation of the platforms to affect elections and public health issues.
Those technology enterprises must also disclose detailed information about political advertisements on their online platforms. Agence France-Presse has reported that if a company has repeatedly and seriously violated regulations and endangered the safety of European citizens, they will be barred from entering the EU market. The Financial Times has also stated that violators may be fined 6% of global profits.
Source: 16 December 2020, Ming Pao
■Mock examination question
“Relying on legislation to regulate social media is the best way to stop the circulation of fake information on the Internet.” To what extent do you agree with this statement? Please explain.
Agree to a large extent
． Legislation is more efficient
Legislation is more effective than improving the media literacy of citizens. With their algorithms and big data, social media make it easy for people to unconsciously trust everything presented to them. Although better media literacy will allow citizens to distinguish between trustworthy and false information, the cultivation of such literacy takes time, while the effects of legislation are immediate. People who do not want to face legal consequences will stop writing or sharing fake news, which will effectively curb the increasingly rampant spread of false information.
．Legislation swiftly prevents false information from being circulated
Compared with publicity campaigns, legislative supervision is more able to swiftly prevent false information from being circulated on the Internet. The government's popularity also affects the effectiveness of their publicity campaigns. In contrast, the provisions of a law tell citizens what to do clearly. Netizens can evaluate the risk before distributing information.
Agree to a small extent
． Education on media literacy is less controversial
Educating people on media literacy can strengthen netizens' ability to discern false information. Compared with legislation, long-term education is more effective in preventing the circulation of false information. In contrast, regulation of online activities can provoke a backlash and be criticized for restricting free speech if not handled carefully. The cultivation of media literacy through education is more effective and less controversial, strengthening people's ability to identify false information in the long run.
． Publicity campaigns are more problem-oriented
Compared with legislation supervision, publicity campaigns are a better way of preventing the spread of false information. Laws can easily become the government's tools for suppressing freedom of speech. The government can instead clarify fake news in an immediate, targeted manner through regularly distributing correct information online.
Translated by Odyssey Lang
[通通識 第706期]
