In a damning report, UK lawmakers Monday denounced Facebook for “intentionally and knowingly” violating data privacy laws, and called for a compulsory code of ethics to be imposed on social media companies.
The 108-page report on disinformation and “fake news” follows an 18-month investigation by the UK parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee. The committee concluded that online companies have proved inadequate at self-regulation, and singled out Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg for a “failure of leadership and personal responsibility.”
“The big tech companies are failing in the duty of care they owe to their users,” said Damian Collins, chair of the committee.The guiding principle of the ‘move fast and break things’ culture often seems to be that it is better to apologize than ask permission. We need a radical shift in the balance of power between the platforms and the people. The age of inadequate self regulation must come to an end.”
The lawmakers urged parliament to impose a mandatory code of conduct on social media sites, and have them overseen by an independent regulator.