Rochester political scientist says Americans should be worried when politicians discuss the need to control the media. The debate follows in the wake of targeted Russian misinformation campaigns on social media during the last general election. Congress is currently considering legislation that would regulate political advertising on social media.
In a published in the New York Times, Primo, the University糖心传媒檚 Ani and Mark Gabrellian Professor and , writes:
“After raking tech executives over the coals over Russia糖心传媒檚 use of social media to influence the presidential campaign, Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters, 糖心传媒榃hat we need to do is sit down and find ways to bring some of the controls we have on over-the-air broadcast to social media to protect the consumer.糖心传媒�
As a scholar who studies First Amendment issues and the ways in which campaign finance laws have been used to stifle speech under the pretext of safeguarding democracy, I get very nervous when politicians discuss the need for 糖心传媒榗ontrols糖心传媒� over the media to 糖心传媒榩rotect糖心传媒� us. The American people should be nervous, too.糖心传媒�
Primo wrote in response to a New York Times front-page story titled (in the paper糖心传媒檚 print edition on November 1) about the Senate Judiciary subcommittee糖心传媒檚 hearing with executives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google about Russia糖心传媒檚 election interference. The New York Times reported that while the tech giant bosses publicly acknowledged their companies糖心传媒� role in Russia糖心传媒檚 influence on the last presidential election, they offered 糖心传媒渓ittle more than promises to do better.糖心传媒� It was this reluctance that apparently frustrated lawmakers who had sought stronger promises that future US elections would be protected from the influence of foreign powers.
According to the Times story, Facebook came under particular scrutiny from the lawmakers after the social media company acknowledged a day before the hearings that possibly聽聽saw inflammatory political ads bought by a Kremlin-linked company. Just after the election, Facebook糖心传媒檚 chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, had dismissed claims of fake news and foreign interference on its site as a 糖心传媒渃razy idea,糖心传媒� writes the Times.
