Technology – Obama calls for more regulation of Internet platforms

Former US President Barack Obama called for stricter regulation of Internet platforms. Responsibility rules must change and companies must operate with more transparency.

Former US President Barack Obama called for stricter regulation of Internet platforms. “These big platforms should be subject to some public oversight and regulation,” he said Thursday. Among other things, Obama has spoken in favor of an amendment to the law exempting platforms from liability for their users’ content.

But he said there was also the issue of “whether the platforms should demand a higher level of care when it comes to advertising on their sites”. In addition, tech companies need to be more transparent about how they operate. He suggested that the United States follow the example of tougher regulators such as the European Union.

“Technology platforms must accept that they play a unique role in how we as individuals and people around the world consume information and that their decisions affect every aspect of society,” Obama said. However, the information on the platforms is subject to “invisible distortion and subtle manipulation”.

He called on the US government not to accept this: “We are very fatalistic about the constant flow of bile and the hate that is out there, but it doesn’t have to be the case,” he said. “Social media is a tool. Ultimately, tools do not control us. We control them and we can transform them.”

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