MPS attack tech giants on fake news

“Fake news” has plunged democracy into crisis with voters being systematically manipulated by campaigns of hate and disinformation, a Commons committee has warned.

In a blistering attack, MPS rounded on tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, for acting “irresponsibly” over data collection and called for new laws to make them accountable for the “wild west” social media world.

Users’ behaviour is being “modified and changed” at the hands of social media companies and there is currently no 0 MP Damian Collins: ‘action needed to clamp down’

sign of the practice ending, the digital, culture, media and sport committee warned.

The investigation shone a light on everything from Facebook’s apparent failures to stop the inciting of hatred against Rohingya Muslims in Burma to the “intractability” of tech companies in recognising Russian meddling in elections.

Committee chairman Damian Collins said action was needed to clamp down on fake news: “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.

The government is expected to publish a white paper later this year on proposals to reform laws to make the internet and social media safer.