Commentary: Insurrection and the Responsibilities of Social Media Companies
January 6 is most certainly a day that will live in infamy. Democracy took a painful step backward... into a gutter. We watched in horror and disbelief as President Trump used social media to encourage political unrest by his supporters with his continued claims that the elections were rigged. He urged them to the point of insurrection. He sat idle as they broke into our nation’s capitol. He silently watched the ensuing violence. And then he labeled the mob as patriots. After months even years of allowing the spread of false information, Facebook and Twitter finally silenced Trump’s bullhorn, but only after the damage was done, and only for 12 hours. What responsibilities do social media companies like Twitter and Facebook have in this travesty?
Section 230
For years now, social media companies have been in government crosshairs both in the US and around the world. You may recall last year when Facebook received a record $5 billion fine for failure to comply with rules set by the FTC. Not because the company violated its social media regulations — there aren’t any!
Section 230 is a decades-old law shielding social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter from lawsuits over content their users post on their platforms. It says an “interactive computer service” can’t be treated as the publisher or speaker of third-party content. This protects websites from lawsuits if a user posts something illegal, although there are exceptions for copyright violations, sex work-related material, and violations of federal criminal law. All other media companies can be fined and shut down for spreading slander, inciting violence, and misleading readers in ways that contribute to harm. In other words, they own and take responsibility for the content published. What should we do?
Comments by Santa Cruz Community Leaders
Donna Meyers / Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz
“Wednesday's events in Washington really are a wake up call for all communities. Misinformation is really rampant in our society now - with entry into "debate" limited, civility for differing opinions not valued, and a continued disconnect between what makes a society, a community and town function for all. We have created isolation amongst our neighbors and screen time has replaced human engagement. Episodes of this kind will continue to happen because our social fabric is frayed by years of neglect. We have confused activism with incivility and worse violence. Screen time, posts within your echo chamber, challenging via memes and taunting add to the isolation and division. The solution is the long rebuilding of truth, civility, humbleness in leadership and a commitment to find empowerment through engagement and possibility, not violence and mistruths.”
Manu Koenig / 1st District Supervisor
“We must defend our public institutions with public policy that holds social media companies responsible for distinguishing truth from lies. Any business that profits from dis-information is unsustainable because it will eventually destroy the society that created it.”
Cynthia Larive / Chancellor of UCSC
"A free and independent press supported by journalistic integrity is foundational to our democracy. As shown by today's events, we must insist on fact and science-based reporting through all media channels, and I am proud that groups like UCSC's Science Communication program are leading the way."
We Believe
We believe the Biden Harris administration will address social media company responsibilities. President-elect Biden is not a fan of Section 230. In January 2020, Biden proposed revoking Section 230 completely.
“The idea that it’s a tech company is that Section 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one. For Zuckerberg and other platforms. It should be revoked because it is not merely an internet company. It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false.” President-elect Biden LINK
It is time to re-examine Section 230 protections for content platforms like Facebook, and support more stringent responsibility and regulations.
Team Santa Cruz Works