The tech industry needs regulation and legislation to address the problem of the spread of misinformation online, according to former President Barack Obama.
The very design of these platforms seems to be in the wrong direction, according to Obama.
The comments come as Congress considers a slew of reforms to rein in the power of the tech industry, including competition laws, privacy protections and changes to the legal shield known as Section 230, which allows for content moderation but also protects platforms from liability for users.
The debate has been raging in Washington for the last couple years. The position of Obama is notable because his administration is now viewed by many reform advocates as having been friendly to the tech industry. According to a review of meeting records published by the Tech Transparency Project, there was a close relationship between the Obama White House and Google.
I might never have been elected president if it hadn't been for websites like Facebook, and I'm dating myself because of it.
The relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley was not tense at the time. The election of Donald Trump as president and the revelation of Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal made a huge difference in the year.
President Joe Biden advocated for repeal of Section 230 during his campaign for the White.
Obama is taking a cautious approach. He said that platforms should be required to have a higher standard of care when it comes to advertising on their site, and that Congress should consider reforms to the law.
Obama said regulation can promote competition and keep incumbents from freezing out new entrants.
Many conservative lawmakers have accused social media companies of censoring on the basis of ideology, though the platforms have denied this and said they simply enforce their community guidelines. Obama said that free speech arguments have limitations.
The First Amendment checks the power of the state. It applies to editorial decisions made by the New York Times or Fox News, but not private companies like Facebook. Never has. Social media companies make their own decisions about what is and is not allowed on their platforms. Content moderation and algorithms are used. We don't know what principles govern those decisions.
The concept of a tech platform like a proprietary meatpacking method was advocated for increased transparency by Obama.
They don't have to tell the world what that technique is. He said that they have to tell the meat inspector.
The president said internet companies aren't solely responsible for the divisiveness in society.
The decline of newspapers and other traditional news sources has been accelerated by the increasing market dominance of social media platforms.
Tech companies and their employees were appealed to by Obama.
It is a chance for companies to do the right thing. He said that you will still make money, but you will feel better. You want to feel better because you've seen what's out there.
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