Re:Facebook Admits It Was Used to Incite Violence in Myanmar...
by Nextgrid on Monday January 11, 2021 @05:16PM
(#25738221)
Preventing them from promoting content for engagement's sake would be a good first step.
It's one thing to be a neutral platform and allow people to say what they want (even if it sometimes means things that shouldn't be said), but at least the platform here is neutral and doesn't directly profit off the bad content (or at least doesn't profit off it any more than it profits off "good" content).
It's a totally different thing where the platform starts acting as a publisher and starts promoting the bad content (since divisive/outrageous content generates the most "engagement"). Here, the platform directly profits off bad content and should be held liable for it; you shouldn't be able to have your cake and eat it too.
It's one thing to be a neutral platform and allow people to say what they want (even if it sometimes means things that shouldn't be said), but at least the platform here is neutral and doesn't directly profit off the bad content (or at least doesn't profit off it any more than it profits off "good" content).
It's a totally different thing where the platform starts acting as a publisher and starts promoting the bad content (since divisive/outrageous content generates the most "engagement"). Here, the platform directly profits off bad content and should be held liable for it; you shouldn't be able to have your cake and eat it too.