For the first time in the history of the internet, a wide
array of platforms took a hard stance against a spectrum of online hate and the
propagation of intentionally false and misleading information. All this has happened in response to Donald
Trump’s egregious misuse and exploitation of the internet. These new standards are
long overdue. Many civil-rights and civil-justice organizations have lobbied
the internet industry for years to take such action. But despite a decade of
determined effort prior to 2016, it only took Trump four short years to
convince the internet companies how dangerous and destructive it can be to avoid
implementing policies which support dangerous online behavior.
Many recently banned extremists, and inflammatory voices including
Alex Jones and David Duke, have been on the internet almost since day one. The
danger they posed and the slow corrosion they sought to inspire started then
too. Each of them and many more have exploited every new platform and service. They
were rarely turned away by the platform operators.
Extremism in the US, and on the internet, became systemic because
of reluctance to act responsibly. Donald
Trump exposed just how deeply parts of our country are invested in hate. Just how
significant the internet has become is in their thought processes which foster the
worst in societies. How tolerance and free speech have been weaponized against
democracy.
Has Trump awakened us to how far the internet has strayed
from its original aspiration? Is this the watershed moment for the internet?
Unfortunately, the decision to change the ethos of the
internet seems to be in the hands of the wrong people. Despite being the fastest evolving industry
in history, policy changes have always been excruciatingly slow.
Significant policy changes have only come about reactively
in response to the threat of regulation, lawsuits or, arrest. Proactive policy
adjustments have been far from tectonic. In an industry which regularly
promotes itself as making the world better, in some very real ways, the
opposite seems to have happened.
This can be an inflection point for the internet. The
internet industry can never again escape the proof that it has some
responsibility for what appears online. They can continue to try and evade the
issue, or they can own it.
Imagine an internet dedicated to the safe, responsible,
open, and yes, even contentious debate of ideas? That would be a bizarre and wonderful side
effect of Donald Trump’s attempt to undermine democracy, censor truth and
marginalize dissenting voices. It may take years, but Trump may have started
the process that may fix the internet.
Jonathan Vick, North American Representative & Board Member,
International Network Against Cyber Hate
