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29 Jul 2018
25 July 2018 <br />
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Amman- Faisal Al Shbool, member of the Board of Commissioners of the Independent Election Commission, asked traditional media outlets, journalists, academics, and legal specialists to look for ways to protect society from the negative messages of social media, while not ignoring the constitutional right of the public to knowledge and protecting freedom of opinion. This is necessary before seeking the help of the government and parliament, he said.<br />
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In a lecture he delivered at the Jordan Media Institute titled "Mainstream Media in the Face of Social Media," Shbool said that "the prevalence of negative messages and extremist content in social media has contributed to the creation of an Arab environment that embraces violence and hate. This has especially been the case since the beginning of the decade, which is marked by wars and sedition. More dangerously, some of this content has leaked to the press, which made it sometimes culpable as well."<br />
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Shbool proposed the launch of a national project to be sponsored by the media, relevant civil society organizations, government, and parliament. This includes setting up an entity, which maintains contacts with social media companies, to monitor false news, hate speech, and immoral content. It could benefit from the experience of the Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED).<br />
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The project also includes introducing new legislation or amending existing legislation to determine the legal age of users of social media and penalties for abuse of these media platforms. The same applies to combating tax evasion and depletion of hard currency through social media. This is in addition to speeding up the establishment of a complaints council, as stipulated in the National Strategy of Jordanian Media.<br />
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According to the former director of the Jordan News Agency, this is meant to "maintain people's right to knowledge and access to correct information. This requires promoting freedom of the media and people's right to expression, and not suppressing freedoms and restricting mainstream media or social media."<br />
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In the lecture, which was attended by a number of politicians, media people, journalists, and students of the Institute, Shbool commended the contributions of social media to the promotion of personal freedom, public freedoms, and communication skills; enriching knowledge; easy access to decision-makers, public figures, and opinion leaders; and exchanging cultures. He added that "the negative use of this human achievement has placed humanity in the face of a difficult reality. The world is now looking for solutions, depending on the culture of each society, its heritage, and legal system."<br />
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Shbool linked what is happening today on social media platforms to the beginning of the phenomenon of websites and how competition between them helped to "cross red lines legally, socially, and morally through abusive comments under explicit or fake names and by publishing false news and speaking about the private affairs of others." He indicated that "amending one article in the Press and Publications Law, by making the chief editor liable for publishing and comments, has greatly curbed this serious phenomenon. Had it continued unchecked, we would have paid a higher price on all levels."<br />
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He said: "In order not to miss the opportunity once again, and to advance even by a small step, by bridging the gap with the developed world around us, we should think loudly and work together, irrespective of our different positions, to confront the new reality, create a better future, and help next generations in an ever-changing human landscape." He wondered how the new reality can be dealt with without encroaching on the right of the public to free expression of opinion.<br />
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To answer this question, Shbool said: "We should follow other nations and communities that are ahead of us technologically, democratically, and culturally in how they faced the disadvantages of this revolution. We should study the experiences of countries that are classified as advanced in media freedoms, such as Sweden, Norway, France, and Britain. We must not follow the example of nations that blocked Internet services or some social media, search engines, or smart phone applications."<br />
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Shbool pointed out that there are professional violations that media outlets sometimes commit. However, they are subject to accountability, either through self-regulatory bodies or government authorities or courts, depending on the regulations of each state. "As for social media violations, the world has so far not been united in finding a legislative formula to limit the great damage to human security as a whole."<br />
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He said that the press in particular contributed to the crisis we are experiencing by resorting to social media in two ways: Launching platforms for newspapers on social media, and republishing content from social media without verifying it.<br />
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On the advertisement market, which is the main contributor to the press, Shbool said that the local press and other media outlets forgot that "most of its share of the advertising market, despite the limited local market, is now going to social media. Thus, the latter has thrived at its expense and has even exceeded it on the whole. The evidence is how public opinion handled the 30 May protests and what followed them." Shbool cited as evidence the fact that "self-regulatory bodies in the Swedish press discovered that 64% of the share of the press from the advertising market is now going to social media. It demanded a piece of legislation to protect the Swedish press."<br />
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The lecturer concluded that traditional media and social media rely on each other in publishing news. The difference between them is that "traditional media refrains from republishing on many occasions due to legal and ethical prohibitions, while social media does not have such reservations and considers republishing the content of mainstream media to be safe. Consequently, social media has become more popular and has taken control of market advertisements and become a real rival of traditional media. It has also become a dangerous source of rumors, fake news, and hate speech."<br />
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At the end of the lecture, there was a discussion with the attendees. Shbool called for action to support serious and committed local media, especially printed press, as is the case in advanced countries, to support public freedoms. These countries consider support for the press to be support for democracy and the right of its citizens to free expression and information. This is also similar to supporting political parties to protect society from the negative content of social media.