Protecting freedom of expression on social media
18.3.2021
Question for written answer E-001496/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Dimitrios Papadimoulis (The Left), Alexis Georgoulis (The Left), Petros Kokkalis (The Left), Stelios Kouloglou (The Left), Elena Kountoura (The Left), Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left)
The social media provide a public forum for exchanges of views regarding the social and political scene and are exercising a growing influence on public opinion. At the same time, they are, to a growing extent, interfering with content, invoking their conditions of use to delete posts or suspend user accounts. This raises serious issues directly related to democratic freedom of expression[1], something that has thus far been left to the management mechanisms developed by the private networking platforms concerned. Aware of the need to protect citizens’ rights in the digital age, the Commission has recently issued a proposal for the Digital Services Act[2], the provisions of which are applicable to platforms across the board, especially regarding freedom of expression.
In view of this:
Does the Commission consider the content management mechanisms developed by private social media platforms to be adequate and secure?
What action has it taken with a view to protecting citizens’ rights more effectively and, in consultation with users, creating, implementing and keeping under review a transparent framework for their participation, bearing in mind the serious breaches of their rights by the platforms?
What measures will it take to effectively protect citizens’ rights, in particular freedom of expression, pending entry into force of the Digital Services Act?