Mark Zuckerberg To Discuss Regulation With UK
Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke last year, the UK government has been trying very hard to get Mark Zuckerberg into the country to actually answer some questions as to how his social media platform, Facebook, actually operates. To date, he has been very resistant to that idea. Either not wanting to waste his time or deeming the UK ‘not important enough’ to warrant his personal presence.
In a report via the BBC, however, it seems that he is open to a meeting with the UK’s culture secretary. He can, however, only apparently spare him 30-minutes.
30-Minute Meeting
Various governments around the world seem rather keen on imposing some form of independent regulations on social media. A factor that I personally think is long overdue. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other sites are clearly not doing a particularly good job and, at present, only seem accountable to themselves.
While a 30-minute might not sound too promising, it does at least give the UK Government an opening to put some real regulations in place. I do, however, suspect that Mark Zuckerberg isn’t going to be too keen on the idea.
Regulations Means Loss Of Control
If Facebook does sign up to a set of Government-backed regulations, it does cause a lot of problems for them. Not only do they have to comply with each countries requirements, but it also removes a lot of their own autonomous control. They will be accountable to someone else. A factor I suspect none of the social media platforms are too keen on.
I do, however, think that as consumers we are currently not being protected. As such, government regulation, as much as some may not like it, is needed! 30-minutes of Mark Zuckerberg’s time may not seem very long, but it is an opportunity to try and get some ground rules in effect.
What do you think? Does social media need regulation? What would you propose? – Let us know in the comments!
