Is it time to regulate social media?
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 22 February 2019
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Should Facebook and others be forced by governments to take responsibility for what people are exposed to on their platforms?
Social media companies' algorithms have come under particular scrutiny, with allegations that they push inappropriate content - such as neo-Nazi propaganda, self-harm videos and conspiracy theories - to its users, including to children. "Angry Aussie" YouTuber Andrew Kay describes how the video sharing platform shifted from being a site for video bloggers, to a place where contributors will do or say anything in order to get attention, and thereby earn money.
Meanwhile Professor Alan Woodward, a cyber security expert at the University of Surrey, tells Vishala Sri-Pathma what he thinks governments should be doing to rein these global digital behemoths in.
(Picture: Teenager looking at her smart phone in bed; Credit: Ljubaphoto/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Linda and I'm Mercy. |
| 0:01.6 | What these weird girls? |
| 0:02.8 | They don't even sound right. |
| 0:03.9 | Before you get to the podcast you've actually chosen to download, |
| 0:06.7 | we're here to tell you about our new podcast, |
| 0:09.1 | Parent Land. |
| 0:10.3 | It's a podcast for anyone interested in raising children. |
| 0:13.1 | The idea is that listeners email in their questions |
| 0:15.1 | and we use scientific evidence and culture to try and find some answers. |
| 0:18.7 | Parent Land to the rescue. We've been having a good old chat about what we're hoping to get from parent land. |
| 0:23.4 | So if you want to hear what we've been talking about, please search for parent land |
| 0:26.6 | wherever you find your podcasts. |
| 0:31.2 | Hello, I'm Vishala Sri Papma. |
| 0:33.6 | Welcome to Business Daily from the BBC. |
| 0:36.5 | Social media is in the dock in the program today. |
| 0:39.5 | Since it burst into our lives, we've been hooked, but is it healthy? |
| 0:43.6 | They start off watching a Minecraft video |
| 0:45.9 | and the algorithm ends up recommending a few steps |
| 0:50.5 | and you're only three videos away from a Holocaust denier. |
| 0:55.2 | And our governments, are they doing enough to protect us? |
| 0:58.6 | There needs to be something, at least some guidelines to what's expected, forcing these |
| 1:03.2 | companies to show the public and the lawmakers what it is they are actually doing. |
... |
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