The Misinformation In The Covid-19 Infodemic Report, published by the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, says an online harms regulator must be appointed now to hold social media platforms to account.
The report argues that until the proposed duty of care on tech companies is introduced as part of legislation to regulate social media and online platforms, internet companies will not be compelled to act.
British MPs also accuse the platforms of using business models which disincentivise action against misinformation while affording opportunities for some to monetise misleading content.
Julian Knight, chair of the committee, said: “We are calling on the Government to name the regulator now and get on with the ‘world-leading’ legislation on social media that we’ve long been promised.
“The proliferation of dangerous claims about Covid-19 has been unstoppable. The leaders of social media companies have failed to tackle the infodemic of misinformation.”
The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated that without due weight of the law, social media companies have no incentive to consider a duty of care to those who use their services
The report highlighted the spread of false claims online linking 5G to the virus, resulting in threats being made against telecoms engineers, as a clear sign of the dangers misinformation can pose.
It also said it had seen evidence of a serious public health impact from misinformation, with false claims about home remedies and cures for the virus meaning “some people have mistakenly turned to unproven home remedies, stopped taking ibuprofen and prescribed medicine, or elsewise ingested harmful chemicals such as disinfectant”.
MPs said the spread of financial scams online during the pandemic was further evidence of the Government needing to act sooner.
“Evidence that tech companies were able to benefit from the monetisation of false information and allowed others to do so is shocking. We need robust regulation to hold these companies to account,” Mr Knight said.
“The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated that without due weight of the law, social media companies have no incentive to consider a duty of care to those who use their services.”
The committee has called on the British Government to publish draft legislation in the autumn, alongside its full consultation response to the Online Harms White Paper, if a finalised Bill is not ready.
