How should free speech and protection of data be regulated on socialmedia platforms?

Introduction

When someone make false rumors to drive a wedge between people in a club, most get caught. However, when
false information spread on social media, the problem become serious. Currently, many countries are struggling
to regulate false information that has become prevail in social media. However, concerns about the infringement
of free speech still exist. Thus, in order to regulate free speech and protection of data on social media platforms
fairly, it is necessary to revise the law and apply it strictly that make platform operators prevent spreading false
information on their own.

Background

Social media is already seen as a venue for the spread of fake news. News about the death of Korean famous
singer Lee was reported on November 2012. However, it turned out to had started with a tweet that used word
‘sumswin’ meaning ‘alive’ but confused with ‘sumjin(dead)’. Afterwards, many celebrities had to suffer from
similar jokes (Yu, 2012). On December 2016, a young man fired several live bullets with a rifle, saying he was
investigating the ‘pizzagate.' The ‘Pizzagate’ had already been turned out to be fake news by mainstream media,
but it continued to spread on SNS(Merica, 2016).

Research and Results

Multiple papers analyzing false information suggest that social media acts as a broadcasting station for fake news.
According to an analysis by Journal Of Economic Perspectives published in 2017 by AEA, fake news relies
heavily on social media in its structure. It is because of Cheap cost to access, forms which weaken critical reading,
and friends network system in which people share common interest(Hunt &Gentzkow, 2017).
Critics say legal regulation are difficult in that there is a risk of infringing on freedom of expression and it is
difficult to specify criminals. According to the Korea Comparative Public Law Association, the process of
selecting what is fake news and who made it is not only difficult, but also can shrink the free expression due to
the fear of punishment. However, in this paper, problems could be resolved through strict application of laws that
impose obligations on social media operators(Lee, 2019). Although there is a controversy over how much of the
obligation can be imposed, it is clear that platform operators should give first aid to prevent the spread of fake
news.

Proposed Measures and solutions

Currently, Germany is the country that imposes the most mandatory restrictions on false information. Germany
has legislated NetzDG, the law that regulates fake news, since October 2017. The law mainly defines the duty of
social media platform operators. Platform operators are obliged to report and disclose the contents of objections
to illegal postings to the government and readers. They should review objections and delete illegal postings within
a set period of time.
In south Korea, Article 44 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communication Network Utilization and
Information Protection currently stipulates the obligations of operators. However, it is necessary to revise current
law for transparent process of dealing with objections, and strict deadline to correct false information for fast-
changing social media environment.

Conclusion and suggestions

In conclusion, from several research, social media is being used negatively as a channel for fake news. However,
punishment of those who disseminate information should be approached with extreme caution, as there is a risk
of infringing on individual freedom of expression. When obligation of platform operators defined strictly and
makes their correction process transparent, the risk of violating freedom of expression seriously can be reduced
while regulating false information.

References

Yu, S.J. (2012, January 17). ‘이효리 숨쉰 채 발견?’건도 사실 언론이 키웠다[The press actually raised

the question of "discovered Lee Hyo-ri with her breath."]. 한겨례. Retrieved from

http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/515048.html

Merica, Dan. (2016, December 9). Hillary Clinton calls fake news 'an epidemic' with real world consequences.

CNN. Retrieved from

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/08/politics/hillary-clinton-fake-news-epidemic/index.html

Hunt, A., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). "Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election." Journal of Economic

Perspectives, 31 (2): 211-36. Retrieved from

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.31.2.211

Lee, K. I. (2019). 소셜 네트워크 시대에 가짜뉴스(fakenews) 규제에 관한 헌법적 고찰[Constitutional

Review on the Regulation of Fakenews in the Social Network Era]. 공법학연구, 20(1), 81-109.

Tworek, H., & Leerssen, P. J. (2019). An Analysis of Germany's NetzDG Law. University of Amsterdam. High

Level Working Group on Content Moderation Online and Freedom of Expression.