Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube and Twitter are increasingly becoming a vehicle for the strategic use of information by states (so-called dis/information operations). These platforms, which are conceptually defined as social media, provide their users with a wide range of opportunities to obtain information, to network, to form opinions and to communicate. It is clear that these processes need law and regulations. However, it is less obvious why existing procedures for the production of standards have so far been unable to successfully curb hate speech and disinformation.
In the Global Governance Spotlight 2|2019, Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann examines the successes and deficits of previous norm-building processes and regulatory efforts in the field of social media, particularly at regional and global level. On this basis, five guidelines are named which could help to overcome the shortcomings of previous attempts of regulation.
Kettemann, Matthias C. (2019): Internationale Regeln für Soziale Medien: Menschenrechte wahren und Desinformation bekämpfen [International Rules for Social Media: Safeguarding Human Rights and Fighting Disinformation]. Global Governance Spotlight 2|2019.