Disinformation's Threat To Democracy: Barack Obama Bats For More Regulatory Oversight Of Social Media Giants

Former US President Barack Obama batted for a more sumptuous regulatory oversight of the country's social media giants while stating that their capability to curate the information individuals consume has "turbocharged" political polarisation and threatened the democracy pillars worldwide.

While speaking on the issue of how to address the outspread of disinformation, Obama stated the companies are required to subject their proprietary algorithms to the same type of regulatory oversight that ensures the safety of food, cars, and different consumer products as well.

Impact Of Misinformation On Social Media

"Tech companies need to be more transparent about how they operate," the former US President was quoted as saying at Stanford University by a New York Times report.

During his address, he also added how much of the conversation around disinformation is concentrated on what individuals post and the more significant issue is what content these platforms promote.

"TV is a tool. The internet is a tool. Social media is a tool. At the end of the day, tools don't control us. We control them. And we can remake them." -@BarackObama, speaking at Stanford on Thursday pic.twitter.com/aR7vQQGvfh

— Stanford University (@Stanford) April 22, 2022

Furthermore, the 60-year-old also extended his support towards suggestions to modify a critical legal shield for online companies: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields social media outlets from liability for their users' content.

Followers of a change acknowledge it would compel companies to up their efforts to curb dangerous or illegal behaviour- ranging from drug sales to disinformation with equally harmful outcomes.

Media Giants Need To Do More To Stop Fake News Outspread: Obama

While lauding the internet's transformative benefits, Obama also encouraged companies to set social responsibility ahead of the relentless quest for profits.

Obama then went on to cite his own effective utilisation of media platforms as a candidate and his frustration with how the Russian president Vladimir Putin used the internet to exploit the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

"What does still nag at me was my failure to fully appreciate how susceptible we had become to lies and conspiracy theories, despite being a target of disinformation myself," Obama stated while adding that "Putin didn't do that. He didn't have to. We did it to ourselves," he said.

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