National Assembly pushes for more responsible Internet practices

Independent MNA Catherine Fournier presented a motion to her fellow colleagues calling on the federal government to study the regulation of algorithms used by social networking applications.

The motion, which was adopted unanimously, aims to tackle the population’s increasing dependency on social media. Fournier also wants to prevent the spread of fake news and the creation of echo chambers.

Echo chambers are an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own, which is a major problem developing on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Fournier also hopes to remind technology giants that they have an important social responsibility. People need to question the social media business model, Fournier explained, it goes beyond regulating hate speech.

“It is not normal to let the virality of content massively disinform the population without doing anything. It is not normal that we let teenagers develop serious anxiety problems without doing anything,” Fournier said.

There needs to be a certain amount of regulation handed down to social media companies, just like every other company, she continued. Fournier added that regulations are even more important for companies that can dramatically influence society.

“There’s no reason to let them act with impunity while our social cohesion is eroding partly because of them. Governments will have to stand up,” she said.