Fake news a 'crisis in our democracy' warns MPs' report
A report from Westinster's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee published on Sunday warns that fake news is a threat to our democracy and calls for stricter regulation of social networks and new levies on social media companies.
The committee has called for a series of major reforms to try and tackle the problem, including that new laws to make tech companies responsible and liable for content carried on their platform regardless of its origin and credibility. “Tech companies have profited greatly by using this model”, said the report.
Ahead of a full report expected in the autumn, the DCMS panel also suggested audits in the case that social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter fail to act against fake accounts and properly account for the estimated total of fake users on their sites.
The committee, which plans to call for evidence from regulators including Ofcom, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Information Commissioner's Office on how to tax social media companies, also believes it necessary for political parties to change the rules on campaigning during elections and pushed for a public register for political advertising.
"We are facing nothing less than a crisis in our democracy – based on the systematic manipulation of data to support the relentless targeting of citizens, without their consent, by campaigns of disinformation and messages of hate,” said Damian Collins, MP and chair of the committee.
He also said Facebook failed to spot Russia’s manipulation of the US 2016 elections and the British Brexit referendum at the time and said it was only discovered after repeated requests were made for the investigation for evidence of this activity.
“Users were unaware that they were being targeted by political adverts from Russia, because they were made to look like they came from their own country, and there was no information available at all about the true identity of the advertiser," he added.