Will the Future of Social Media Change in Europe?
Recently, the development and regulation of social media have been on the agenda in the European Union (EU).
The EU has imposed fines on large tech companies, hoping European companies can gain ground. They want to prevent technology companies like Google, Meta, or Apple from dominating the digital space.
The European Parliament and the European Council have agreed on a draft of a new bill on digital markets.
Another bill called the Digital Services Act (DSA) aims to regulate new rules in Europe on how the technology industry should deal with misinformation and illegal content on social media.
The new proposed regulation, which complements the Digital Market Act, will send a strong signal to all European citizens, all EU businesses, and our international partners, stated EU President Ursula von der Leyen. She tweeted: "Our new rules will protect users online, ensure freedom of expression and opportunities for businesses. What is illegal offline will effectively be illegal online in the EU. A strong signal for people, business & countries worldwide."
One especially important element of the new regulation is the removal of hate speech.
The rule is not just for social media sites but for app stores, business platforms, even cloud providers, and most importantly, internet service.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama has called on technology platforms to step up efforts to curb misinformation on their platforms. Obama has criticized companies’ opaque algorithms and financial incentives to recommend extreme or derogatory content. At Stanford University in Silicon Valley, the former president stated:
“One of the biggest reasons for the weakening of democracy is the profound change that’s taken place in how we communicate and consume information.”
The EU seems to think very seriously about the need to regulate large technology companies to put social media in order. With the law, the EU wants to curb the spread of false news and hate speech.
The important question is whether EU member states also take this objective seriously. After all, there are the EU member states where, unfortunately, hate speech appears regularly on social media. Incitement to hatred is a daily practice.
The only question is, how long is this possible?
Thomas Barat is a journalist, photojournalist, foreign correspondent/editor and Head of the NY Branch Office of a Hungarian-based Press Agency (WBPI) and TV Channel (Heti TV) in New York. He is the Founder Editor in Chief of CCO MAGAZINE - the Magazine of the Chief Communication Officers. He has expertise in writing, editing and publishing.
He was TV talk show host on one of Hungary's tv-channel called Budapest Television. Thomas Barat is a retired Professor of Communication and he was the Education Director of European Media and Communication Institute. He wrote 17 books in the field of Applied Communication. Mr. Barat was the President of the Ethical Committee of the Association of Hungarian Journalists and also the President of the Media Self-Regulatory Body of Hungary. Thomas Barat is a member of different professional organizations.
Among others: Society of Professional Journalists USA, Association of Hungarian Journalists, Hungarian Public Relations Association, Chartered Institute of Public Relations UK, he is the Founder and President the American Hungarian Chamber of Commerce.