Analyst on why regulating social media despite misinformation spread is tricky

TJ Manotoc | TFC News San Francisco, California

<figure class='op-interactive'><iframe height='315' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TNY6KfKQKGY?enablejsapi=1' width='560'></iframe></figure><div class='iwantbar'>Watch more in <a href='//www.iwantv.com.ph/'>iWantv</a> or <a href='//tfc.tv/'>TFC.tv</a></div><p>With fake news weaponized in recent elections in many countries, the issue of good vs evil and of who's attacking who in the political arena has always been debatable. In the Philippines, it's no different.</p><p>Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan, an author and UCLA professor who studies the intersection of tech, politics, and societies, said that social media being used as a double edged sword in political campaigns is something few foresaw a decade ago.</p><p>"If you look at every recent major election actually not just in the United States, but around the world including the ascendance to power of Rodrigo Duterte and that in the Philippines, those political questions are largely questions about technology. Every election is partly a story of the technology at that time and how those particular political parties or candidates use those technologies," Srinivasan pointed out.</p><p>Dr. Srinivasan describes it as messaging that clearly grabs the user's attention and it's been scientifically proven overwhelming nervous systems, strangle holding dopamine, and influencing cortisol: all to push them to think one way or another about a topic regardless if it's true or not.</p><p>"By capturing our data, they know us so well in certain ways that they can influence how we think how we feel, what we believe, what we buy," Srinivasan said. "So in a sense history is quickly eroded. History is constantly being reconstituted, in a sense, every moment when we're on social media channel. So that's a really important point. And I think that's a very relevant point in relation to the political environment within the Philippines."</p><p>Some candidates have said it's time to hold social media companies accountable, but for Dr. Srinivasan, it's tricky for governments to even try to regulate them.</p><p>"It's impossible to actually control... It would be impossible to have any mechanism to actually check the factuality of content or even to have the platforms be liable for that."</p><p>Dr. Srinivasan noted that one out-of-the-box solution is to make them a public utility. "My idea and and my colleagues as well is have we thought of things like Google Search, Facebook, Instagram as utilities? Because basically, everyone's using them. They're kind of like electricity or water at this point. When you regulate something as utility, you have to ensure that it serves a certain idea of the public interest."</p><p>Social media is at the heart of political polarizations in many countries and experts like Dr. Srinivasan argue that leaders need to figure out the balances of the 21st century in terms of the digital economy as well as prioritize public interest, because otherwise, these private platforms may just tear us further apart.</p>

<p>"If you look at every recent major election actually not just in the United States, but around the world including the ascendance to power of Rodrigo Duterte and that in the Philippines, those political questions are largely questions about technology. Every election is partly a story of the technology at that time and how those particular political parties or candidates use those technologies," Srinivasan pointed out.</p><p>Dr. Srinivasan describes it as messaging that clearly grabs the user's attention and it's been scientifically proven overwhelming nervous systems, strangle holding dopamine, and influencing cortisol: all to push them to think one way or another about a topic regardless if it's true or not.</p><p>"By capturing our data, they know us so well in certain ways that they can influence how we think how we feel, what we believe, what we buy," Srinivasan said. "So in a sense history is quickly eroded. History is constantly being reconstituted, in a sense, every moment when we're on social media channel. So that's a really important point. And I think that's a very relevant point in relation to the political environment within the Philippines."</p><p>Some candidates have said it's time to hold social media companies accountable, but for Dr. Srinivasan, it's tricky for governments to even try to regulate them.</p><p>"It's impossible to actually control... It would be impossible to have any mechanism to actually check the factuality of content or even to have the platforms be liable for that."</p><p>Dr. Srinivasan noted that one out-of-the-box solution is to make them a public utility. "My idea and and my colleagues as well is have we thought of things like Google Search, Facebook, Instagram as utilities? Because basically, everyone's using them. They're kind of like electricity or water at this point. When you regulate something as utility, you have to ensure that it serves a certain idea of the public interest."</p><p>Social media is at the heart of political polarizations in many countries and experts like Dr. Srinivasan argue that leaders need to figure out the balances of the 21st century in terms of the digital economy as well as prioritize public interest, because otherwise, these private platforms may just tear us further apart.</p>

<p>With fake news weaponized in recent elections in many countries, the issue of good vs evil and of who's attacking who in the political arena has always been debatable. In the Philippines, it's no different.</p><p>Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan, an author and UCLA professor who studies the intersection of tech, politics, and societies, said that social media being used as a double edged sword in political campaigns is something few foresaw a decade ago.</p>

<figure class='op-interactive'><iframe height='315' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TNY6KfKQKGY?enablejsapi=1' width='560'></iframe></figure><div class='iwantbar'>Watch more in <a href='//www.iwantv.com.ph/'>iWantv</a> or <a href='//tfc.tv/'>TFC.tv</a></div>

An analyst talks about social media's role in elections and why it is tricky to regulate despite concerns over misinformation online.

Analyst on why regulating social media despite misinformation spread is tricky | ABS-CBN News

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Analyst on why regulating social media despite misinformation spread is tricky

Analyst on why regulating social media despite misinformation spread is tricky