Facebook´ Regulatory Offensive Is Clouded

Mark Zuckerberg published an op-ed in Financial Times titled Big Tech needs more regulation, on February 17, 2017. He outlined there some ideas about the development of regulatory solutions according to Facebook. These ideas are based on the White Paper produced by Facebook and titled Charting a Way Forward..Online Content Regulation.

These regulatory frameworks should involve not just lawmakers, private companies and civil society, but also users. The following principles have been outlined:

- Incentives. Ensuring accountability in companies’ content moderation systems and procedures will be the best way to create the incentives for companies to responsibly balance values like safety, privacy, and freedom of expression.

The global nature of the internet. Any national regulatory approach to addressing harmful content should respect the global scale of the internet and the value of cross-border communications. They should aim to increase interoperability among regulators and regulations.

Freedom of expression. In addition to complying with Article 19 of the ICCPR (and related guidance), regulators should consider the impacts of their decisions on freedom of expression.

Technology. Regulators should develop an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of technology in content moderation and allow internet companies the flexibility to innovate. An approach that works for one particular platform or type of content may be less effective (or even counterproductive) when applied elsewhere.

Proportionality and necessity. Regulators should take into account the severity and prevalence of the harmful content in question, its status in law, and the efforts already underway to address the content.

This was part of Facebook´s high level meetings with EU representatives in Brussels this week. However, according to media reports, the EU officials seem to remain sceptical about Facebook´efforts and suggestions.

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