But these complications can obscure the ways platforms can operate directly as deliberate influencers of public opinion and even publishers of their own content.
To take one example, both Google and Facebook took advantage of their central place in the information economy to advertise politically orientated content to resist the development and implementation of Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code.
The platforms’ construction also directly influences what content can appear and what content is recommended – and hate speech can mark an opportunity for clicks and screen time.
Now, pressure is increasing to hold platforms responsible for how they moderate their users and content. In Europe, recent regulation such as the Media Freedom Act aims to prevent platforms from arbitrarily deleting or banning news producers and their content, while the Digital Services Act requires that these platforms provide mechanisms for removing illegal material.
Australia has its own Online Safety Act to prevent harms through platforms, though the recent case involving X reveals that its capacity may be quite limited.
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
Durov is currently only being detained, and it remains to be seen what, if anything, will happen to him in coming days.
But if he is charged and successfully prosecuted, it could lay the groundwork for France to take wider actions against not only tech platforms, but also their owners. It could also embolden nations around the world – in the West and beyond – to undertake their own investigations.
In turn, it may also make tech platforms think far more seriously about the criminal content they host.
Timothy Koskie is a postdoctoral researcher at School of Media and Communications, University of Sydney. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.
Source: CNA
