Document details

Information Interventions and Social Media

Internet Policy Review, volume 10, issue 2 (2021), 25 pp.

Contains bibliogr. pp. 20-25

CC BY

"[...] While mass media, including TV or radio, have long been recognised as a key actor in the escalation of violent conflicts, the scale of dissemination and the degree of accountability of digital actors involved is different. Although the doctrine of information intervention initially evolved to address concerns around the role of mass media in conflict, it can provide inspiration for adjusting legal frameworks, and core foundational tenets such as the Responsibility to Protect, to address the risks coming from the spread of hate speech and disinformation to social media channels. Nevertheless, the peculiarities of social media require a different approach, and one that includes the responsibilities of social media companies and has at its core, accountable content moderation. Private companies like social media can be both tools of intervention and barriers to intervention. Therefore, Information Intervention Councils (IIC) could have a crucial role in increasing the degree of proceduralisation of information intervention and avoiding disproportionate interference with states’ sovereignty and human rights. There are some limits regarding the role of IIC with regard to participation of stakeholders, the complexity in dealing with escalation, and the effectiveness of its guidelines. However, the establishment of such a system, within regional or international bodies, would increase global awareness while providing a framework to address the spread of online hate and disinformation escalating offline harms including genocide and ethnic cleansing." (Conclusion)