Government’s AI adviser calls for crackdown on social media targeting
Social media users are being left in the dark about the way major platforms target information at them, the government’s artificial intelligence (AI) adviser has warned.
A report published today by the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) called for tighter regulation of online targeting systems, which use personal information about users to decide which posts, videos and adverts to show them.
An analysis of public attitudes towards social media revealed that while people welcome the convenience of targeting systems, they are concerned that firms remain unaccountable for any potential harm, such as increasing discrimination and harming the vulnerable.
Only 29 per cent of people said they trusted platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to target them in a responsible way, while just a third trusted companies to change their settings as requested.
More than 60 per cent favoured greater regulatory oversight, compared to 17 per cent who supported self-regulation, according to a survey conducted with Ipsos Mori.
In its report the CDEI called on the government to increase platforms’ accountability for their targeting methods and improve transparency about how they work. However, it insisted the recommendations would not hold back the sort of online personalisation that users find useful.
It comes as the government prepares to introduce a raft of new legislation overseen by a new online harms regulator in a bid to ensure social media firms take greater responsibility for the material posted to their platforms and the safety of their users.
“Most people do not want targeting stopped, but they do want to know that it is being done safely and responsibly and they want more control,” said CDEI chair Roger Taylor.
“Tech platforms’ ability to decide what information people see puts them in a position of real power. To build public trust over the long-term it is vital for the government to ensure that the new online harms regulator looks at how platforms recommend content, establishing robust processes to protect vulnerable people.”
The CDEI also called for the new online harms regulator to take on a statutory duty to protect freedom of expression and privacy.