At Stanford University, California, the 44th President of the United States accused large platforms for largely amplifying “the worst instincts of humanity”.
Le Monde with AFP
They were at the heart of his presidential campaigns, but he calls today to regulate them: former US President Barack Obama spoke in the prestigious Californian University, in the heart of Silicon Valley, during near. One hour, Thursday, April 21st. He accused the great platforms of social networks to have largely amplified “the worst instincts of humanity. One of the major causes of the weakening of democracies holds in our ways to communicate and inform us “.
The Democrat leader recognized that it would not “maybe not been elected” without sites like MySpace or Facebook.
For Barack Obama, the Facebook and Youtube business model – large-scale targeted advertising – relies on the economy of attention. “These are, unfortunately, inflammatory, polarizing contents, which attract attention and encourage the participation” users.
“This must be our alarm to react”
The former president (2009-2017) has also expanded on the phenomenon of misinformation and has reproached for not having sufficiently realized “how much we had become receptive to the lies and theories of the plot “Before the election of Donald Trump, which succeeded him.
“We have just seen an exercise president deny clear election results and helping to inspire violent insurrection against the capital of the nation,” he said, with reference to the 45 e President of the United States, who did not recognize Joe Biden’s victory at the end of 2020 and encouraged his followers before the Capitol’s assault on January 6, 2021, who made several deaths.
Barack Obama has therefore called for a reform of laws that govern social networks, so that they are more responsible and more transparent, explaining that the problem at the heart of misinformation was less “what people publish” than ” The contents that these platforms promote “.
The proof, according to him, that they are not “neutral” and that the algorithms should be subject to safety controls by a regulatory authority, in the same way as cars, food and other consumer products. Before concluding before Stanford students: “The tools do not control us. We can control them.”