MPs WANT LAWS TO TACKLE FAKE NEWS
FAKE news has plunged democracy into crisis, with voters being systematically manipulated by campaigns of hate and disinformation, a Commons committee is warning.
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 content on their sites.
Users’ behaviour is being “modified and changed” at the hands of social media companies and there is currently no sign of the practice ending, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee warned.
New laws must be introduced to clamp down on the “wild west” social media world, they urge.
The wide-ranging 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: “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.
“In this inquiry we have pulled back the curtain on the secretive world of the tech giants, which have acted irresponsibly with the vast quantities of data they collect.
“Despite concerns being raised, companies like Facebook made it easy for developers to scrape user data and to deploy it in other campaigns without their knowledge.
“Throughout our inquiry these companies have tried to frustrate scrutiny and answers.
“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.”
Tech firms tried to dodge scrutiny throughout the parliamentary probe.
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.
In its report, the committee called for a new category of tech company to be introduced that plugs the gap between platform and publisher.
It would force social media firms to take action over harmful and illegal content.
MPs said the firms have profited from posts that lead to high levels of engagement.
The companies should be subject to audits of their security mechanisms and algorithms to ensure they are operating responsibly, the committee said.
Concerns were also raised about the numbers of fake accounts on Facebook and Twitter, which could mean advertisers being defrauded if paying on the basis users are real.
The committee has asked the Competition and Markets Authority to consider conducting an audit on the social media advertising market.
Mr Collins added: “Data crimes are real crimes, with real victims. This is a watershed moment in terms of people realising they themselves are the product, not just the user of a free service. Their rights obfuscated in their over their data must be protected.
“The first steps are to identify the scale of the problem and the areas where immediate action is required.”
A government spokeswoman said: “The Government takes disinformation very seriously...That is why we have said we will come forward with new online safety laws to make sure the UK is the safest place to be online.” A KEY figure in the Brexit campaign who refused to give evidence to the fake news probe declared “**** the charlatans” as he posted its findings online two days ahead of its publication date.
Dominic Cummings repeatedly defied MPs’ demands to give evidence to the inquiry and accused them of “grandstanding”.
The former Vote Leave director underlined his disdain for the work of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee by breaking the embargo when it gave out advance copies with the instruction they must not be published before today.
In a message posted on Twitter by ITV’s political editor Robert Peston, Mr Cummings said: “I’ve published the DCMS report on my blog, **** the charlatans embargo.”
MPs criticised Mr Cummings in the report for refusing requests to appear before them and an official summons.
They have referred him to the Committee of Privileges, which could hold him in contempt of Parliament.
The DCMS report states: “Mr Cummings’ contemptuous behaviour is unprecedented in the history of this committee’s inquiries and underlines concerns about the difficulties of enforcing co-operation with Parliamentary scrutiny in the modern age.”
Mr Cummings was just one of a num- ber of figures who were heavily criticised in the report.
MPs attacked Arron Banks and Andy Wigmore, the main players in the Leave. EU referendum campaign.
They said allegations being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office that the group used insurance data from companies owned by donor Mr Banks were “extremely serious”.
The committee also looked into claims about Mr Banks’s meetings with Russian officials, including ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko, to discuss gold and diamond acquisitions, the passing of confidential documents, and the exchange of information about the EU referendum.
Mr Banks and Mr Wigmore misled the committee on the number of meetings that took place with the Russian embassy and walked out of its evidence session to avoid scrutiny about the content of the meetings, the committee said.
The report states: “Mr Banks seemed to want to hide the extent of his contacts with Russia, while his spokesman Andy Wigmore’s statements have been unreliable.”
MPs again called on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to appear before the committee to “answer the many outstanding questions to which Facebook has not responded adequately”.