The responsibility of social networks in the rise of discriminations

Summary

Since June 2023, VoxPublic has been involved in a project aimed both at denouncing the responsibility of social network platforms for the rise of discrimination, manifesting as online harassment and hate speech, and at increasing the pressure on these companies to change their practices.
This project includes several components, raising awareness, empowering and mobilising civil society actors in France.
Similar initiatives are underway in several European countries.

Context and framework for action

With the European Digital Services Act set to come into force on 17 February 2024, EU countries, including France, must join the European effort to regulate platforms, particularly those controlled by GAFAM (Google (Alphabet) Apple Facebook (Meta) Amazon Microsoft), X and TikTok.

Social networks are outstandingly concerned by this European regulation. Due to the economic logic of these platforms and the nature of their algorithms, they facilitate the spread and reinforcement of discrimination, hate and harassment, which particularly affect minorities and discriminated communities (women and gender minorities, racialised people, people in exile, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, etc.). Consequently, they exacerbate a toxic environment for these populations and reinforce existing exclusions in our societies.

In France, despite the well-known nature of the problem, civil society’s mobilization to hold social networking platforms accountable remains relatively limited.
VoxPublic’s involvement in this initiative aims to empower associations fighting against discrimination to mobilize more effectively and, if desired, to initiate collective advocacy or legal actions against social networking platforms.

Aims of the action

The action has three main objectives :

• training and empowering French associations mobilized against discrimination, helping them feel more legitimate in the digital field, often perceived as the domain of only tech specialists.
• creating a network of associations working to change the policies of social networking platforms.
• facilitating collective action to pressure these platforms into changing their practices.

Actions conducted since the launch of the initiative

– Meetings with around ten specialized organizations working on discrimination and social justice issues, through interviews to understand their relationship with digital technology, and more specifically with the issue of digital justice.

– Organisation of a series of webinars on the following themes:

• Algorithms and the rise of online hate, harassment and discrimination (March 2024)
• Online hate, harassment and discrimination facing the law (April 2024)
• Investigative strategies: to document and denounce the effects of social networks (May 2024)
• A focus on contentious strategies for effective digital justice (June 2024)

The role of VoxPublic

A continuous commitment to digital justice

• The #AssoTech project, launched in 2017, aims to make it easier for associations to assimilate digital technology. Four meetings on the use of digital tools to enhance the struggle against discriminations and inequalities were organised and several guides were published.

• In 2022, the ‘Changer de Cap’ initiative called on VoxPublic to denounce the use of digital tools by the CAF(Welfare office) against its beneficiaries. → For more information on this action, please visit this link.

• On 28 November 2023, VoxPublic took part in the third meeting of the ‘interSections-Les dialogues de la Fondation de France’ round table discussion series, sharing insights on the links between digital technology and democracy. → To find out more about this participation, we invite you to read the summary of the presentation on the Fondation de France website.

A supporting and coordinating role

VoxPublic’s role in this initiative, financially supported by the Luminate Foundation, is to facilitate dialogue and the exchange of experiences, and to coordinate the initiatives that the associations will undertake collectively.