Platforms

Internet freedom is increasingly imperiled by the tools and tactics of digital authoritarianism, which have spread rapidly around the globe. Repressive regimes, elected incumbents with authoritarian ambitions, and unscrupulous partisan operatives have exploited the unregulated spaces of social media platforms, converting them into instruments for political distortion and societal control.

Top Republicans are privately worried about a new threat to President Trump’s campaign: the possibility of Facebook pulling a Twitter and banning political ads. Facebook says it won't, but future regulatory pressure could change that.

When President Donald Trump entered office, Twitter was a political tool that had helped get him elected and a digital howitzer that he relished firing. In the years since, he has fully integrated Twitter into the very fabric of his administration, reshaping the nature of the presidency and presidential power. Early on, top aides wanted to restrain the president’s Twitter habit, even considering asking the company to impose a 15-minute delay on Trump’s messages.

The National Commission on Online Platforms and Homeland Security Act (HR 4782) would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to research how online platforms may be used to facilitate acts of terrorism. On the basis of information from DHS regarding the costs of similar research efforts, CBO estimates implementing that provision would cost $4 million. The bill also would establish a national commission to study how entities have used social media and other online platforms to threaten US national security.

"Unfortunately, we are not able to honor your request," Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons tells Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) about the senator's ask that the agency release its 2012 staff report on Google. A chunk of that report was accidentally released back in 2015, revealing that FTC staffers judged that Google had caused "real harm" in the search and online ads markets as part of an investigation that ended with no charges brought against the company.

Twitter and Facebook are staking out starkly different positions about how to handle political ads, but it is unclear how either approach will prevent the spread of misinformation. Some social-media websites have banned ads related to candidates, political parties and legislation. But blocking issues-based advertising, such as ads from advocacy groups or trade organizations, can be hard to enforce, tech executives and media buyers say.

A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act that would force large online platforms to be more transparent about how their algorithms find content to share. The bill would require companies that collect data from more than 1 million users and make more than $50 million per year to notify users that their platforms use algorithms to determine what information is shown and offer users the opportunity to opt-out of curated content.

The Texas-led antitrust investigation into Google has already spilled into court, after the company told a judge that two experts retained by the states raise serious “confidentiality” concerns given their past work with rivals, such as News Corp.

Facebook's hands-off policy toward political ads poses a danger to our democracy. Giving politicians free rein to spread lies using political ads shows a disregard for the role Facebook and other social media platforms play in disseminating information to voters and how political candidates can abuse these policies to spread disinformation. First, it's important to understand the unique role Facebook and other social media platforms play when it comes to advertising. Facebook's business model is based on collecting as much data on its users as possible.

Some governments avidly try to control online data, whether this is on social media, blogs, or both. And surprisingly, China only features in the top 10 for one category. India and Russia are well ahead, accounting for 19.86 and 19.75 percent of the overall number of removal requests (390,764), respectively. However, these two countries don’t always dominate the top spots across all channels. Turkey and the United States also put in a high number of requests, making up 9 percent and 6.91 percent of the overall requests received, respectively.