As it stands most of the laws that control Facebook and indeed the internet are quite dated. They do not reflect the struggle that people meet today when it comes to privacy on the internet. Many companies have had a run-in with the government for this very problem.
Facebook is the biggest company to face problems with the government. But Mark Zuckerberg insists that he can do very little without having strong backing from the government. This issue is not helped by the fact that many people in high government seats do not understand the internet very well. Often they leave alone its measures that could benefit everyone.
Take for instance the iPhone case where the Senate wanted apple to create a back door to access data from a terrorist. The FBI came in and insisted that Apple hack the iPhone stating national security was involved.
But Apple refused, stating personal security issues. On the surface, the FBI seemed to have a solid case and thought that Apple was vindictive by not cooperating. But after a closer analysis, we learn that the reasons for this refusal by the tech giants were entirely legitimate.
Apple insisted if they did create a backdoor of the phone, what would stop the FBI from coming back with other iPhones. What was even more disturbing is to learn that if the backdoor code were to land in the wrong hands would mean that all iPhones would be compromised. Apple’s solution? Do not create the code at all.
This also applies to Facebook which has suffered similar condemnation from people in Washington. They have been told that it is upon them to create robust privacy features, but the government has no regulations to make sure that this is possible.
With no clear guidance, Facebook can only try and improve on their current system. The company has started this by employing new translators to work and fight hate speech online. But even with the recruits, it is still challenging to keep track of everything that happens in this massive platform.
In 2016 Facebook was accused of being negligent when it comes to target ads. These ads allowed Russia to have a significant influence on the elections. Many people admit that they get their news on Facebook and in some countries, Facebook is an interchangeable term with the internet.
The social media company was sued for being discriminatory as they allowed only a specific demographic to be targeted with the ads. On the surface, Facebook could not stop the Russians from using this kind of advertising to display ads for only certain people because by itself this would also be discrimination.
In the end, the company is free for all platforms that could be used even by terrorists to spread their message. One of the most significant problems is how you do differentiate radical messages and overzealous characters?
What Does Mark Zuckerberg Want the Government to Do?
One of the first things the CO of the Social media company wants to be done is by standardizing laws. That would make it much simpler to detect hates speech as they would know what to look at.
Secondly, the policy would ensure whatever device, service provider or app you use the law would be the same and they would also know what is right from wrong. In the end, Facebook would not be held liable for discrepancies that third-party companies associated with them would do.
The company is also looking for regulation of political ads. Facebook was forced to burn all announcements coming from Russia for a long time, but as we mentioned above, this can be termed as discrimination and can do more lawsuits in the wrong run. Such restrictions would also make it easier for smaller companies, for instance, an essay writing service, to control their market better.
But by having the backing of the government, the company can have a clear point of references to the public also understanding the terms of the agreement in place.
Zuckerberg also called for a more wholesome regulation of the internet in a similar way to how the EU has conducted its policies. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation or the GDPR is an act that the user chooses how their data is used.
Such a policy would make it illegal for companies to share personal information or third-party companies to track your internet usage. Such legislation would also make it difficult for target ads to be displayed to you.
