GENEVA: United Nations experts said on Wednesday that the UK and other nations drafting legislation to regulate internet content, including racial abuse, should avoid too broad definitions and over-reliance on algorithms, which might stifle free speech. In the last two years, more than 40 new laws on social media have been passed around the world, including Vietnam’s 2019 cybersecurity law https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vietnam-socialmedia/vietnam-to-tighten-grip-on-social-media-livestream-activity-idINKBN2EK0NE?edition-redirect=in, which experts claim has been used to delete posts and detain those who express critical opinions.
“Virtually every government that has implemented rules dealing to internet content has threatened human rights,” Peggy Hicks, a senior official with the United Nations Human Rights Office, said during a press conference.
“This occurs both because governments respond to public pressure by rushing in with simplistic remedies for complicated problems, and because some governments use this law as a method to limit speech they detest and even muzzle civil society or other opponents,” she explained.
Racist abuse was directed at black players on the England soccer team via social media. After England’s defeat in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-johnson-condemns-racist-abuse-england-soccer-team-2021-07-12 drew widespread condemnation. On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to strengthen measures against online racist abuse of soccer players, including banning fans from games if they are found guilty of such offenses and fining social media firms for failing to remove it https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-will-fine-firms-drive-racist-abuse-off-online-sites-says-johnson-2021-07-14.
When pressed to comment on the proposed legislation in the United Kingdom, Hicks said: “First and foremost, I believe we must recognize that you cannot wave a magic wand and make racism on the Internet vanish…. The truth is that what we see online reflects what people face on a daily basis offline.” “To prevent racist speech through algorithm – the type of speech we’ve seen in this case – you’d need a fairly comprehensive strategy that would surely block more speech than we’d want to see blocked,” she continued. The Digital Services Act, introduced by the European Union (EU) in December, mandates internet companies to do more to combat unlawful content such as hate speech and child sexual abuse material. “The decisions taken in that legislation could have global ramifications,” said U.N. human rights officer Marcelo Daher, emphasizing good aspects such as the openness requirements.
“However, several contradicting signals persist, including the potential that firms could face overbroad liability for user-generated content and that court control would be limited,” he said.
(Stephanie Nebehay contributed reporting, and Jonathan Oatis edited the piece.)/n
