Fresh from a bruising public relations disaster in Australia, Facebook — along with Google and Twitter — has much bigger problems this month when US lawmakers will grill the tech giants again over spreading misinformation about politics and Covid-19.
Facebook has the most to worry about — including the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill, as it was used as the primary organising platform by right-wing rioters, and its reluctance to ban former president Donald Trump until after five people died because of that riot.
Last month the world’s largest social network, with more than 2.3-billion users, scored yet another own goal with its clumsy reaction to the Australian government’s admittedly imperfect law that Facebook and Google should compensate news publishers.
Since CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s 2018 announcement that it would "pivot to privacy" and drop the news feed, Facebook has become a pariah for failing to rein in its users from spreading disinformation, misogyny, anti-Semitism and lies such as Trump’s claim that last year’s election was "stolen". Instead, Zuckerberg’s focus on groups has proved to be a breeding ground for conspiracy theories such as QAnon and the Trump-supporting militia mobs.
On March 25 the energy & commerce committee of the house of representatives will start grilling Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on, among other things, how disinformation has spread with "real-life, grim consequences for public health and safety".
It’s a first: an elected government determining what news organisations are paid by a company
"For far too long, Big Tech has failed to acknowledge the role they’ve played in fomenting and elevating blatantly false information to online audiences. Industry self-regulation has failed," said Democratic congressman Frank Pallone jnr. "We must begin the work of changing incentives driving social media companies to allow and even promote misinformation and disinformation."
But, having settled with the Australian government, Facebook has signed deals with three publishers (the details are still secret). The eight-day news blackout, which included the pages of essential government services and Facebook’s own corporate page, has humbled Facebook, despite its posturing.
It’s worth noting that this is the first time, globally, that an elected government will set the prices for what news organisations are paid by a commercial company — and that prices are not set by the firm that will always be in a more powerful bargaining position.
Other countries have seen that Facebook and Google, which blinked first, can be forced to follow legitimate laws. Until now, no country has had the guts to stand up to the might of these tech giants.
As Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: "Global tech giants, they are changing the world, but we can’t let them run the world."
Australia just won the first test.
- Shapshak is publisher of stuff.co.za and Scrolla.Africa
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