Social Media Platforms Are Better At Minding Their Business

Michael Hedges January 20, 2021 - Follow on Twitter

Big Tech is not a kind and gentle bunch. It is, after all, big business. They take the insults and threats while churning out the money. They offer to share, within limits. They cut users a lot of slack in what gets posted, within limits. But there are limits beyond which comes the ultimate hammer: deplatforming.

While Australia’s Senate continues to debate implementing a code of conduct meant to force search engines into a levy for search listings, Google decided to run a little test that “happens every year.” The object, it said, was to determine the value of its search services to Australian news outlets, noted the BBC (January 15). No better way to find out how many reporters, editors and executives in Australian media use their services but by cutting them off, right? Oh, there was squealing.

The proposed News Media Bargaining Code would force Google, Facebook and others into mandatory arbitration to determine just how much to pay Australia’s publishers and broadcasters for listings. A draft first surfaced last April. It has moved steadily toward becoming law, which is expected shortly. Its current form was written to avoid, if possible, the result of similar legislation in Spain in 2016 that led Google to withdraw its services from the country rather than stump up cash. It was the first deplatforming of a country.

Australian Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who championed the legislation, grumbled that Google should “focus on paying for original content, not blocking it,” quoted by Australian Financial Review (January 14). The tweaked algorithm shunts search results for Australian Financial Review (AFR), The Australian and Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) to other publications or old material. The Australian is published by News Corp Australia, principally owned by the Murdoch family. AFR and SMH are published by Nine Entertainment, whose now-outgoing chief executive Hugh Marks declared Google and Facebook should be paying AUS$6 billion (about €3.8 billion). If the draft passes, Australian users would “reluctantly” be prevented from sharing news content, said Facebook Australia/New Zealand managing director Will Easton, reported by ABC News (September 1, 2020), allowing for the second country deplatformed.

Social media and video sharing platforms have “reluctantly” been deplatforming certain users for posting misinformation, hate speech or inciting violence. Most recently Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have moved to protect their gardens, their advertisers and their users. The coronavirus pandemic spawned misinformation posted to social media platforms beyond the dreams of the original propagandists. Between the “miracle” cures and the conspiracy theories this became the “infodemic.” Social media platforms now flag such drivel, prevent it from being reposted or encouraged.

A touchy subject - for one and all - is political speech. Social media platforms regularly gave politicians - in office and not - a pass in the interest of newsworthiness. With its broad international reach, Facebook flagging or removing inflammatory posts during election campaigns. Uganda’s government cut off all social media platforms - and considerably slowed internet access - after Facebook blocked several government pages.

All of the civic integrity policies duly posted by the social media platforms were toothless until Twitter, Facebook and YouTube actually pulled the plug on well-known miscreants. They were certainly aware of the onslaught of free speech absolutists calling for laws to reign in their actions. Poland’s government, not known for civil liberties, is pushing legislation to criminalize removing fake news social media posts. But social media platforms as privately-owned concerns are governed by their customers as much if not more than transient politicians.

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