The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted recommendations calling governments to act properly. Traceability amongst the measures proposed
by Emanuele Bonini
National governments should update domestic legislations on press and publishing in order to guarantee the accountability of the on-line content and tackle the fake-news phenomenon, the Council of Europe said today in a recommendation passed by 127 votes to 2 with 5 abstentions. The international organization based in Strasbourg called to act against the misinformation produced through new media channels, since the line between what could be considered a legitimate attempt to express own views seeking to persuade and what is disinformation and manipulation «is frequently crossed». Facebook, twitter, individual blogs, non-journalistic platforms: the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) noted, «with concern, the number of on-line media campaigns designed to misguide sectors of the public through intentionally biased or false information, of hate campaigns against individuals and also of personal attacks, often in a political context, with the objective of harming democratic political processes». A practice which oblige to initiate, «both at the national level and within the Council of Europe», discussions on norms and mechanisms required for preventing the risk of information distortion and manipulation of public opinion.
Stop with deregulation
According to the PACE there is a situation of substantial deregulation. Today it has become difficult to control the use and sharing of information on the internet, namely (but not only) because of the increasing presence of fake profiles flooding the internet, with anonymous posts and comments using the platforms of different media outlets. That's why rules are needed, and the Council of Europe asked in particular to «ensure the traceability by law-enforcement authorities of users of online media when they violate the law». A measure that can be explained by the fact that on-line media «must not become a lawless zone through the anonymity of users». Furthermore, governments are requested to set up alert mechanisms against people who regularly post insulting or inflammatory text (the so-called «trolls»), which empower users to complain about them, with a view of excluding such people from their fora.
Controversial aspects
In the era of digitalization, rules and guidelines are needed to keep "the communication industry" under control in order. This consideration of the PACE can however raise controversial aspects. The kind of rules that governments will adopt, will influence the media system. In other words, in name of addressing the problem of false news, the line of independence and freedom of the press could be crossed. This is something the world is experiencing with the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, who just silenced government officers with gag orders. Looking at the internet, employees at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Agriculture won't be allowed to publish any kind of document, included those not-classified. So, be careful to don't give politicians the legal tool to take over control of information and news on-line.
National governments should update domestic legislations on press and publishing in order to guarantee the accountability of the on-line content and tackle the fake-news phenomenon, the Council of Europe said today in a recommendation passed by 127 votes to 2 with 5 abstentions. The international organization based in Strasbourg called to act against the misinformation produced through new media channels, since the line between what could be considered a legitimate attempt to express own views seeking to persuade and what is disinformation and manipulation «is frequently crossed». Facebook, twitter, individual blogs, non-journalistic platforms: the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) noted, «with concern, the number of on-line media campaigns designed to misguide sectors of the public through intentionally biased or false information, of hate campaigns against individuals and also of personal attacks, often in a political context, with the objective of harming democratic political processes». A practice which oblige to initiate, «both at the national level and within the Council of Europe», discussions on norms and mechanisms required for preventing the risk of information distortion and manipulation of public opinion.
Stop with deregulation
According to the PACE there is a situation of substantial deregulation. Today it has become difficult to control the use and sharing of information on the internet, namely (but not only) because of the increasing presence of fake profiles flooding the internet, with anonymous posts and comments using the platforms of different media outlets. That's why rules are needed, and the Council of Europe asked in particular to «ensure the traceability by law-enforcement authorities of users of online media when they violate the law». A measure that can be explained by the fact that on-line media «must not become a lawless zone through the anonymity of users». Furthermore, governments are requested to set up alert mechanisms against people who regularly post insulting or inflammatory text (the so-called «trolls»), which empower users to complain about them, with a view of excluding such people from their fora.
Controversial aspects
In the era of digitalization, rules and guidelines are needed to keep "the communication industry" under control in order. This consideration of the PACE can however raise controversial aspects. The kind of rules that governments will adopt, will influence the media system. In other words, in name of addressing the problem of false news, the line of independence and freedom of the press could be crossed. This is something the world is experiencing with the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, who just silenced government officers with gag orders. Looking at the internet, employees at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Agriculture won't be allowed to publish any kind of document, included those not-classified. So, be careful to don't give politicians the legal tool to take over control of information and news on-line.
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