Forecasting the governance of harmful social media communications: findings from the digital wildfire policy Delphi
Forecasting the governance of harmful social media communications: findings from the digital wildfire policy Delphi
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DOI：
10.1080/10439463.2020.1839073
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发表时间：
2020-10-30
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Jirotka, Marina
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Edwards, Adam;Webb, Helena;Jirotka, Marina
社交媒体展现了新兴技术的核心特征。它破坏了组织社会关系的既定方式，正在以指数级的速度发展，其影响，包括新“好”和“坏”的生产，是高度不确定的。在对所谓“数字野火”的恐惧背景下，人们对理解这些影响的兴趣日益增强。“数字野火”是一种政策结构，指的是有害信息的快速传播，特别是那些涉及儿童和其他弱势社会群体的信息，以及那些威胁到自由民主国家政治进程完整性的信息。即便如此，社交媒体的支持者仍急于保护其增强言论自由和振兴公民社会的潜力，通过重新分配编辑权力来塑造公共辩论，促进对精英的民主审查和监督。本文报告了“数字野火政策德尔菲”的调查结果，该调查要求关键信息提供者考虑监管有害社交媒体传播的政治和技术可行性，并预测其未来治理的可能情况。关键的预测是，执法的形式是有限的，刺激“自我监管”将变得越来越重要，但更有争议的是，对弱势群体的伤害可能会在自由民主国家被“容纳”，作为对不加节制的社交媒体所带来的政治和经济利益的代价。文章最后对社交媒体监管的未来方向及其对塑造新兴研究议程的影响进行了推测。
Social media exhibits the core characteristics of emergent technologies. It is disruptive of established ways of organising social relations, is evolving at an exponential pace and its effects, including the production of new 'goods' and 'bads', are highly uncertain. Interest in understanding these effects has intensified in the context of fears over so-called 'digital wildfire', a policy construct referring to rapid propagation of harmful communications, particularly those involving children and other vulnerable social groups but also those threatening the integrity of the political process in liberal democracies. Even so, proponents of social media are anxious to protect its potential for enhancing freedom of speech and revitalising civil society through the redistribution of editorial powers to shape public debate and facilitate the democratic scrutiny and oversight of elites. This article reports findings of the 'Digital Wildfire policy Delphi', which asked key informants to consider the political and technical feasibility of regulating harmful social media communications and to forecast likely scenarios for their prospective governance. Key forecasts are that forms of enforcement are limited, stimulating 'self-regulation' will become increasingly important but, more controversially, the likelihood is that harm to vulnerable groups will be 'accommodated' in liberal democracies as a price to be paid for the perceived political and economic benefits of unmoderated social media. The article concludes with conjectures about future directions in the policing of social media and their implications for shaping the emerging research agenda.