U.K. lawmakers recommend tougher rules for Facebook
LONDON» The U.K. government should increase oversight of social media like Facebook and election campaigns to protect democracy in the digital age, a parliamentary committee recommended in a scathing report on fake news, data misuse and interference by Russia.
The interim report by the House of Commons’ media committee to be released Sunday said democracy is facing a crisis because the combination of data analysis and social media allows campaigns to target voters with messages of hate without their consent.
Tech giants like Facebook, which operate in a largely unregulated environment, are complicit because they haven’t done enough to protect personal information and remove harmful content, the committee said.
“The light of transparency must be allowed to shine on their operations and they must be made responsible, and liable, for the way in which harmful and misleading content is shared on their sites,” committee Chairman Damian Collins said.
The study was due to be published Sunday, but a copy was leaked Friday by Dominic Cummings, the director of the official campaign group backing Great Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Social media companies are under scrutiny worldwide after allegations that political consultant Cambridge Analytica used data from millions of Facebook accounts to profile voters and help U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. The committee is also investigating the impact of fake news distributed via social media sites.
Collins ripped Facebook for allowing Russian agencies to use its platform to spread disinformation and influence elections.
“I believe what we have discovered so far is the tip of the iceberg,” he said, adding that more work needs to be done to expose how fake accounts target people during elections.