News consumption today largely occurs in platform-dominated media environments. In the Asia-Pacific region, various combinations of Youtube, Facebook, Whatsapp, Line, Instagram, Wechat, Naver, Kakao, and Tik Tok are now the primary spaces where people find news. The spread of dis/misinformation on social media today impacts elections, inter-faith relations, pandemic measures, and public trust at large. Platforms and their algorithmically controlled feeds play a critical role in ‘manufacturing consent’ in society. The Dis/Misinformation problem on social media is one of the key concerns around Platform governance today. 

 

Governments in the APAC region have been making prominent regulatory interventions to tackle the spread of mis/disinformation online. Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) came into effect in 2019. Indonesia is reportedly proposing new rules to compel platforms to take down “unlawful content” with criminal liability and large fines for non-compliance. In Europe, the European Commission recently put out an updated 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation, recognised under the co-regulatory framework of the DSA.

 

In the face of government scrutiny and wider societal backlash, Platforms have made attempts at self-regulating. Facebook has their own ‘Community Standards’ and created an Oversight Board of independent experts to make recommendations on upholding of its Community standards. All platforms employ an army of human and AI tools to detect and take down certain types of content and work closely with NGOs and media organisations to integrate fact checking on platforms.  

 

How are these measures influencing platforms as a space for discourse and freedom of expression?  Digital Asia Hub invites you to a Platform Futures Roundtable discussion on Social Media’s Dis/Misinformation problem. 

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