Thread by @MattNavarra

THREAD ⚡️
1/ The UK Parliament has published its report into fakes news and disinformation.

It's highly critical of Facebook, and makes several detailed recommendations.

Here's my take on it and what I'd like to see happen next...

2/ The DCMS report has explored 100's of pieces of evidence and submissions from experts. GOOD!

I agree with the core sentiment that social media companies are in urgent need of regulation

Self-regulation + voluntary codes of conduct have failed time and time again.

3/ A powerful + well-informed UK regulator of digital comms platforms and tech industry more broadly should be created to take meaningful action at speed, when required

It should draw upon views + knowledge of technical experts, key industry stakeholders + end users

4/ It needs to develop broad over-arching rules and compulsory codes of conduct which are backed up in law.

Penalties it can impose need to be substantial and act as a key method of influencing how social media companies act and operate.

5/ Critical to the success of any new regulator in this area is its ability to be agile and act at speed, if needed.

The pace of tech innovation + changes in the industry pose one the many challenges faced in reducing less desirable activities and behaviours of its incumbents.

6/ New rules around removal of harmful content are needed urgently, with the emphasis on companies like Facebook being required to act with greater speed once issues reported, or face penalties.

7/ Digital literacy must be given far greater attention by the UK government.

Providing citizens with information and skills to better understand the risks of social platforms and how best to use them is an essential component of any efforts to regulate the industry.

8/ The UK Government should not pause its efforts any longer, in hope of other governments around the world taking action.

The UK Government should lead by example and be ready to co-ordinate its efforts with other government's as and when needed.

9/ Changes in taxation of social media companies make sense to me, but only if a more robust and updated set of tax rules and enforcement methods are introduced which tackle the issue of global tech companies using loopholes to avoid paying its fair share of tax in the UK

10/ One other very interesting point made in today's DCMS report was its assertion that more obstacles or ‘friction’ should be both incorporated into social media platforms and into users’ own activities—to give people time to consider what they are writing and sharing.

11/ I do think Facebook HAS taken pro-active steps to tackle concerns related to harmful content, political ad transparency, and abuse or harassment issues... HOWEVER... These often feel limited in scope, and often feel a bit 'after the horse has bolted'-type initiatives.

12/ Facebook offering belated apologies + later recognising it must do better, is no longer acceptable

The company has a history of not asking for permission, but hoping for forgiveness. When people's personal data OR mental well-being is at risk, this is a scary modus operandi.

13/ I hope UK Gov acts on this report + implements many of its recommendations...And that it does so soon

In an ideal world, regulation would be avoided as it can become an obstacle to innovation + raises concerns of censorship. But we don't live in an ideal world in 2019.

14/ These are my initial thoughts about the some of the findings in the report, and how i feel about the potential for regulation of the social media industry in the UK.

You can read the full @CommonsCMS report here: publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cm…

@CommonsCMS @DamianCollins @DCMS @MattHancock @JoStevensLabour @tom_watson 15/ The report also highlights the critical issue of what bizs like FB are defined as legally

The "we're neither just a platform or a publisher" problem requires a new cat. of tech co for something in-between, which tightens legal liability for harmful content on these platforms