RightsCon Tunis 2019

Disinformation is destroying both trust in the mainstream media and the notion of the self-correcting marketplace of ideas, but we may be underestimating the danger that disinformation poses. When a social media platform is the main delivery system for news, the threat that deliberate coordinated disinformation poses is to freedom of belief and opinion, two under-used but inviolable rights that speak to our deepest sense of the self’s autonomy. These 'quiet rights' underpin how people create a social order that is democratic, tolerant, and open. This panel will discuss the harms that organized, deliberate disinformation campaigns pose and whether they require consideration of more intrusive or structural measures. Companies have been urged to dramatically improve transparency and monitoring of their platforms, but their business model may be part of the problem. If we reframe the issue of disinformation as a challenge to opinion and belief, should government or platforms consider more muscular regulation? Issues to consider through a rights lens include audits as a condition of approving users or licensing platforms, common carrier requirements, greater transparency and regulation of advertising, or even anti-trust measures or new ways to impose liability or sanctions.