Thailand is proposing that technology firms arrange centers in each of 10 Southeast Asian countries to curb the flow of “fake news” and faux accounts, the country’s telecommunications regulator said on Monday.
Such hubs would also work as a shortcut for governments to more easily flag misinformation to providers of over-the-top (OTT) services – any digital services provided over the Internet, including social media – in order that they can comply by removing them more quickly, Thai said. regulatory body.
“Thailand has proposed that OTT companies set up a news verification center,” said Takorn Tantasith, secretary general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand.
“We asked if it is possible for companies to authorize each country to supervise such centers and work directly with them,” Takorn said after Monday’s meeting with technology firms, adding that the businesses would should finance such center operations.
The proposal comes after telecom regulators from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in Bangkok this week to develop regional guidelines for regulating OTT platforms, including tax policy.
He said Monday’s meeting with Takorn was attended by tech giants including Facebook, messaging app operator Line Corp, Amazon and Netflix.
He added that the proposal could be discussed intimately this week on the ASEAN Telecommunications Regulators Council (ATRC).
Takorn said the “coordination and verification centers” would also support Thailand’s latest digital minister’s plan to prioritize efforts to combat fake news and regulate various sorts of content on web sites and social media.
Last month, Digital Affairs Minister Puttipong Punnakanta said in a Facebook post that he would arrange a “fake news center” to remove online content starting from child pornography to insults against the country’s monarchy, in addition to cope with “fake news” and “fake accounts.” .
In one other Facebook post, Puttipong wrote that he “volunteered to remove content that hurts Thai people. Digital media should be clean.”
Other Southeast Asian governments have also recently made efforts to exercise greater control over online content and have taken a powerful stance against disinformation.
In May, Singapore passed an anti-fake news law, forcing online media platforms to correct or remove content deemed false by the federal government.
Vietnam said a cybersecurity law passed last 12 months, which bans the publication of anti-government information online, would protect against fake news.
Source : Reuters | Inwestowanie.com
