Slippery slope of social media regulation

It wasn’t that long ago when social media platforms started becoming an ubiquitous part of our lives, enabling us to communicate and connect with distant loved ones and relatives. With improvements in technology, we further embraced this revolutionary innovation and it didn’t take long for it to become an indispensable feature of our daily life.

With the Arab Spring in 2010-2012, especially in Egypt and Tunisia, social media was no longer just a means to allow a more enhanced manner by which people could communicate and receive information; it now had the potential to make ordinary people’s voices heard and to empower them, thus enabling opportunities to affect societal change such as toppling autocratic governments and leaders. While there is still debate over how influential social media was during the Arab Spring uprisings, there is at least acknowledgement that it has served as a catalyst for revolution, and had a measurable role in organizing protests, mobilizing the populace, disseminating important information, and raising awareness about their cause and struggles.

Fast forward 10 years later, and those heady days when social media was seen and touted to be a platform from which ordinary people can affect positive societal changes, speak truth to power, and undermine totalitarian regimes seem to be long gone and forgotten. Instead of connecting and uniting people, social media is now seen as one of the main culprits that facilitate and fuel extremism and misinformation, on top of exacerbating existing political divisions and polarization around the world.

Not only that, but the totalitarian regimes social media was going to help bring down or change have quickly learned their lesson and managed to either strangle the flow of information, or worse, weaponize it against their opponents. What was envisioned to be a revolutionary technology for fostering unity and understanding is now being used to sow division, hatred, and conflict. It’s therefore not surprising that there is a call and considerable effort nowadays by governments and sectors of society around the world to regulate social media content to address the dangers it poses.

In the Philippines, Congress has been asked to craft a law that would set up a regulatory body to oversee and evaluate social media content. The Kapisanan ng Social Media Broadcasters ng Pilipinas, Inc. even wrote the Executive Secretary asking him to draft an interim executive order on the creation of a “national social media regulatory board” pending its legislation.

Now while I understand the dangers that social media poses and is currently creating online, I also value the right to free speech or freedom of expression. So when calling for the regulation of social media content, let’s be careful about what we’re wishing for, as this will place us on a very slippery slope. And once on that slope, it won’t be that difficult to slip further down, and end up in a place that nobody intended to go to in the first place. Once you start putting restrictions on free speech, “quis custodiet ipsos custodes (Who guards the guardians)?”

Thankfully, it appears that several of our lawmakers are taking a cautious approach on the matter, noting that it will require a tough balancing act. At a press briefing in May this year, Davao Oriental Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario said he thinks it is a very delicate balancing act of ensuring regulation and the freedom of expression and freedom of information. Together with Tingog party list Rep. Jude Acidre, both lawmakers also believe that safeguards and other measures must be implemented first before regulations are even considered.

I think this is the right approach and there should be no rush to pass legislation. The issue definitely needs to be looked at and discussed comprehensively, in the hope that solutions can be found that allows free speech to flourish, yet have in place adequate guardrails to stem its abuse or misuse. In the meantime, if a choice has to be made, then best for now to lean on the side of free expression.

Moira G. Gallaga served three Philippine presidents as presidential protocol officer and was posted as a diplomat at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, and the Philippine Embassy in Washington.