The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty has warned that Meta’s decision to drop fact checking in the US could have dangerous implications for human rights.
Earlier this week, Meta’s boss, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook and Instagram will no longer use fact checkers in the US to try and counter disinformation.
Instead the company will reply on complaints flagged by users, so called “community notes”.
Zuckerberg admitted that the new system will mean “we’re going to catch less bad stuff”.
EU sources have confirmed that Meta will retain fact checking in the European Union. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, social media platforms are compelled to actively target mis and disinformation.
Any change in strategy must be notified to the European Commission.
But the trend by social media platforms to shift away from fact checking is worrying the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty.
“Platforms must not retreat from facts. If they do so, they create a vacuum where disinformation thrives unchecked and the harm to democracy is deep” he warns.
“Harmful speech can spread faster than corrections, and content-shaping algorithms often amplify the most polarising messages.
Mark Zuckerberg said Meta’s decision was about going “back to our roots around free expression”.
But the Human Rights Commissioner says the law on freedom of expression allows for a balance to be struck.
“As reflected by the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, respect for individual’s dignity is the foundation of a democratic, pluralistic society.
Therefore, states can limit or prevent speech that spreads or supports hatred based on intolerance, as long as interferences are proportionate to the legitimate aim.”
And he said European governments must do what they can to uphold human rights.
“I urge Council of Europe member states to redouble their efforts and demonstrate principled leadership in enforcing these legal standards by ensuring that internet intermediaries mitigate the systemic risks of disinformation and unchecked speech”, he said.
Michael O’ Flaherty became Human Rights Commissioner last year. He trained as an Irish human rights lawyer and previously worked for the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency and the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee.