Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg opened up in an op-ed he wrote for the Washington Post and expressed his views regarding the content available on the internet and the dire need to regulate it.
Mark Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook has too much power over speech and it is time that government bodies must intervene to make the internet a better place.
“I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators. By updating the rules for the Internet, we can preserve what’s best about it,” he wrote.
He discussed four major areas that need to be monitored by lawmakers – harmful content, election integrity, privacy, and data portability.
Harmful Content
Speaking about harmful content, Zuckerberg said the company reviews the content that goes online but “at our scale” mistakes are bound to happen. He proposes that third-party bodies must set standards to govern the distribution of harmful content.
“Internet companies should be accountable for enforcing standards on harmful content,” he added.
Election Integrity
Zuckerberg says that it is important to have legislation to protect the integrity of elections. He mentioned that Facebook has made several changes in political advertisements displayed on the platform and now users can see the people who are running those ads.
However, deciding whether an ad is political or not is not as easy as it seems. “Our systems would be more effective if regulation created common standards for verifying political actors,” said Zuckerberg.
Privacy and Data Protection
Zuckerberg believes that to ensure the privacy of users and data protection, a “globally harmonized” framework is needed. Facebook CEO suggests that America must also bring privacy regulations similar to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
“New privacy regulation in the United States and around the world should build on the protections GDPR provides,” he wrote.
He further adds that the new regulations must overcome the loose ends of GDPR.
Data Portability
In the op-ed, Zuckerberg said that if a user is sharing data with one company, he must be able to move its data to another service. However, a government body must see that the information is protected when it moves between two services.
Mark Zuckerberg’s op-ed comes at a time when the company is surrounded by criticism for failing to control the live-streamed video of New Zealand’s terror attack. Also, Facebook is facing pressure from lawmakers to monitor content with the upcoming elections in India.
He ended the op-ed by saying: “I believe Facebook has a responsibility to help address these issues, and I’m looking forward to discussing them with lawmakers around the world.”
