Switzerland: Federal Council wants broad discussion on the regulation of communication platforms
Bern, November 17, 2021 - The need to protect the population from hate speech and disinformation on the Internet also requires a broad discussion in Switzerland. The Federal Council has commissioned DETEC to show it in a discussion paper by the end of 2022 whether and how communication platforms could be regulated. This also applies to strengthening user rights and dealing with non-transparent business practices. It is based on an OFCOM report on the opportunities and risks of Facebook, YouTube and Google.
Communication platforms such as search engines (e.g. Google), social network platforms (e.g. Facebook) or multimedia platforms (e.g. YouTube) are used by large parts of the population in Switzerland and are becoming increasingly important for forming opinions. In contrast to traditional media, these platforms do not have any journalistic standards. There is no obligation, for example, to ensure the truthfulness of the content. According to surveys, the population in Switzerland fears that they will be exposed to more false news on social networks and video portals.
Unlike in Europe and the USA, there are currently no plans in Switzerland for platform operators (intermediaries) to issue specific legal regulations on hate speech, misinformation, lack of transparency and user rights. Various studies commissioned by OFCOM come to the conclusion that the population is entitled to effective protection against illegal hate speech and disinformation, and that the rights of users also need to be better protected vis-à-vis the platforms. Against this background, a broad discussion on the question of social integration and governance of intermediaries is necessary in Switzerland.
Positive and negative effects of the platforms
On the one hand, the new platforms offer opportunities for further democratization of public communication. For example, they make it easier for individuals, organizations and groups to participate directly in public discourse, to introduce their points of view and to express criticism publicly. This means that the variety of publicly available information and opinions is increasing.
On the other hand, the openness of the platforms also has various negative effects. For example, they offer easy ways to spread illegal and harmful content such as hate speech and misinformation. Just as problematic as distributing it is deleting content according to your own, non-transparent rules.
Users have no or only insufficient rights with respect to the platforms, for example they cannot or only insufficiently defend themselves against deletion decisions and do not recognize which specifications dictate which content they can see.
For traditional media, the rise of platforms is associated with declining advertising revenue and declining audience revenue. Sooner or later this threatens the quality of journalistic media products. It is already evident today that news media reporting is concentrating on fewer and fewer topics and geographical areas.
Due to the social importance of communication platforms and their great potential for damage, there is a growing belief in other European countries that various duties of care must be imposed on intermediaries. Accordingly, Europe and the USA are working on developing a legal framework for the activities of intermediaries.
Against this background, DETEC should show the Federal Council by the end of 2022 whether and how communication platforms could be regulated.
Source: Federal Office of Communications OFCOM
Notes:
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