James Lawless TD spoke at the social media policy forum in Dublin Castle today.
Below is a video of James’ contribution
You can view the slides used here
James Lawless – Government not Google must tackle Fake News
The decision taken by Google to ban adverts relating to the referendum campaign on its Google Adwords platform is a positive development, but has come far too late in the campaign, says Fianna Fáil Technology spokesperson James Lawless TD.
“It’s becoming apparent that technology companies such as Google are becoming increasingly aware of the damaging impact that fake news, facilitated by their advertising platforms, is having on our democratic process.”
“In recent years fake news has had a corrosive impact on the Brexit referendum campaign in the UK, the presidential elections in the US and in recent weeks we have seen this murky tactic being employed by unknown forces in our own referendum campaign. “
“Fake news has now become a reality and it’s clear that we as legislators need to take action to protect our democratic process, in the same way that steps were taken in the past to regulate political advertising on traditional forms of print and broadcast media. The Government needs to urgently introduce new measures to promote transparency on social media by regulating political advertising and tackling fake news.”
“The decision taken by Google today, and that taken by Facebook yesterday, is a positive development but comes far too late in the day. Fake news has already had a corrosive impact on the referendum debate on social media. This is alarming when you consider a growing number of people solely rely on social media to consume news and shape their decision making process when it comes to elections and referenda.”
“The decision to take action to tackle fake news and promote transparency with political advertising must not be left with the internet and social media giants. The Bill I brought forward will bring about the necessary regulation to promote transparency. The Government has signalled its intention in accepting this Bill, but they have been far too slow to act on this to date. They have dithered and in the meantime our democratic process has suffered.”
“The Government need to wake up and tackle this issue with a sense of urgency.”
LAWLESS INTRODUCES SOCIAL MEDIA TRANSPARENCY BILL TO THE DAIL
James Lawless TD today introduced legislation to allow greater scrutiny of who is paying for advertising on Social Media Platforms
James said, “We are all aware of the substantial and increasing role of social media and online fora on our public discourse and in the political sphere. Yet the many rules and safeguards which have emerged in the traditional spaces, everything from disclosure of donations to campaign fund caps, to a requirement that all printed materials must carry a label saying who printed and published them. None of these checks are present in the online space as the legislation has not kept pace with technology.”
“I introduced my social media transparency bill in the chamber today. The bill applies only to 1) paid political advertising 2) deliberate usage of multiple fake accounts for political purposes (bots).” Continue reading “LAWLESS INTRODUCES SOCIAL MEDIA TRANSPARENCY BILL TO THE DAIL”
O’ROURKE CRITICISES GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO RURAL BROADBAND
Frank O’Rourke TD has said that broadband must be delivered to rural parts of Kildare as soon as possible, as he criticised the Government’s lazy approach to the Broadband Roll-out Plan
There are many locations throughout North Kildare, even within a few kilometres of one of the world’s best known IT companies, where access to broadband is limited or even non-existent.
“High quality broadband is crucial for small businesses, and for many families and young people where there is an increasing opportunity to work from home or a requirement to access the internet for educational needs,” stated Deputy O’Rourke. Continue reading “O’ROURKE CRITICISES GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO RURAL BROADBAND”
Naas Mayor Robert Power launches Naas Engagers App
There was a great turnout at the Naas Wild Food Festival on Saturday where Mayor Robert Power launched the “Naas Engagers” App. This is an innovative new community mapping project and will provide an opportunity for the people of Naas to put forward and share ideas for the revitalisation & regeneration of Naas. A key part of this pilot project is a mobile phone App that has been developed by Space Engagers, supported by the Social Innovation Fund Ireland in association with Google. The Naas URBACT Local Group, is leading this project as part of an European Union initiative, called “ The City Centre Doctor Project” – which Councillor Deborah Callaghan has been very involved with – the aim of which is to develop a Naas Town Team and to plan for the regeneration of Naas .
Naas Engagers will enable local people to share stories and information about places in the town and to make suggestions as to how some of them could be reused or improved. The aim is to encourage people to think about their town and how they would like it to develop.
Rob said “I’m really proud that Naas is one of only 4 towns in Ireland to trial this digital solution to help rejuvenate town centres.”
Search the App Store for “Space Engagers” and get tagging your ideas for Naas!