We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to tell social media companies that they need to do more to stop anti-vaccination propaganda. Over 230 measles cases were diagnosed in the first quarter of 2019, which has resulted in the UK has losing its “measles-free” status. As The Guardian reports, the Prime Minister will not go as far as to make vaccinations mandatory but will be calling a summit of social media executives to ensure that only accurate information on vaccinations is shared online. The announcement will be made as he visits a hospital in the south-west of England. Earlier this year Simon Stevens, head of the NHS England, said that the rise of “fake news” on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube has fuelled the spread of disinformation about vaccines. Anti-vaccine messages on WhatsApp were also being spread, with the NHS needing to do more to "win the public argument." “As part of the fake news movement vaccination deniers are getting some traction,” Stevens said. “Last year, for example, we saw triple the number of measles cases across England than we had seen the year before despite the fact that, clearly, vaccination works." The UK is trying to do more to reign in social media companies. Currently an Online Harms White Paper from the government is looking into how these companies can be regulated in order to fight terrorist groups, online disinformation campaigns, and pedophile networks, as well as content that might not be illegal but can "cause serious harm." One of the results of this regulation could be that social media executives could be held personally responsible for harmful content. Such actions ask the same questions that have been asked of large social media companies for years: what responsibility does Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have over the content that appears on their platforms if that content isn't illegal, and where is the line drawn between information that is accurate and inaccurate? The Trump Administration is asking similar questions of Facebook and Google, reportedly circulating a draft executive order called "Protecting Americans from Online Censorship" which would regulate social media platforms. However, Trump's actions are to try and halt the spread of allegedly politically biased messages - something tech companies have repeatedly denied - rather than disinformation.
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We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to tell social media companies that they need to do more to stop anti-vaccination propaganda. Over 230 measles cases were diagnosed in the first quarter of 2019, which has resulted in the UK has losing its “measles-free” status. As The Guardian reports, the Prime Minister will not go as far as to make vaccinations mandatory but will be calling a summit of social media executives to ensure that only accurate information on vaccinations is shared online. The announcement will be made as he visits a hospital in the south-west of England. Earlier this year Simon Stevens, head of the NHS England, said that the rise of “fake news” on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube has fuelled the spread of disinformation about vaccines. Anti-vaccine messages on WhatsApp were also being spread, with the NHS needing to do more to "win the public argument." “As part of the fake news movement vaccination deniers are getting some traction,” Stevens said. “Last year, for example, we saw triple the number of measles cases across England than we had seen the year before despite the fact that, clearly, vaccination works." The UK is trying to do more to reign in social media companies. Currently an Online Harms White Paper from the government is looking into how these companies can be regulated in order to fight terrorist groups, online disinformation campaigns, and pedophile networks, as well as content that might not be illegal but can "cause serious harm." One of the results of this regulation could be that social media executives could be held personally responsible for harmful content. Such actions ask the same questions that have been asked of large social media companies for years: what responsibility does Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have over the content that appears on their platforms if that content isn't illegal, and where is the line drawn between information that is accurate and inaccurate? The Trump Administration is asking similar questions of Facebook and Google, reportedly circulating a draft executive order called "Protecting Americans from Online Censorship" which would regulate social media platforms. However, Trump's actions are to try and halt the spread of allegedly politically biased messages - something tech companies have repeatedly denied - rather than disinformation.