Social media hate: US Congress investigation may start soon

Social media networks are increasingly coming under the scanner for spreading hate. The latest development in the matter is the US congress review of hate speech on Facebook, Twitter and Google.

The US House of Representatives is working on passing legislation against the weaponising of social media as reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday. The aim of the move is to determine whether tech giants are doing enough to protect users from harmful content online. It is not just focussed at getting assurances from tech companies, but at seeing if effective measures are used to curb hate.

If the bill passes through the senate and gets the assent of the president, it will result in creating "National Commission" at the US Department of Homeland Security, which will have the authority to issue subpoenas and hold hearings. It would create a social media task force to coordinate the government's response to security issues. The legislation may be introduced as early as next week, according to the Washington Post.

Facebook, Google and Twitter have already started appearing before senate lawmakers in hearing which states that the companies' social media platforms have become "conduits for real-world violence."

The companies have claimed several times that they are improving their measures in this regard, but it has been found insufficient as the Christchurch attack, which was streamed live on Facebook.

The companies are facing a lot of heat not just from the government, but also from rights groups. Many rights groups have written to them for curbing the spread of hate and have claimed that these networks have "moral responsibility" to do so.

It is the classic conundrum – to do or not to do. Social media networks have been championing free speech and have been at the head of many movements such as the Arab Spring or the recent Hong Kong protests. But the spread of hatred such ISIS propaganda is also an after-effect of this freedom.

If the legislation is passed, it will be interesting to see how these networks perform a balancing act between the two.