Maria Ressa, the founder of the news site Rappler and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has boldly stated that social media companies’ bosses are the biggest dictators. Speaking at the Hay Festival, a literary festival held in Hay-on-Wye, England, Ressa argued that social media platforms can change how we feel, which in turn changes how we see the world and act.
Ressa pointed out that discussions about online identity ideology are becoming more polarized around the world. She gave the example of this ‘polarization’ as ‘like rich or poor in the Philippines, or white or other races in America.’ She further stated that social media platforms aim to further pit people against one another and create chaos, with tech companies driving polarization and stoking fear, anger, and hatred. These practices, she warned, change us on an individual and societal level.
Ressa, who has previously criticized then-President Duterte, stated that ‘Former President Duterte is a much smaller dictator than Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk.’ To reduce the power that tech companies have over their users, Ressa argues that the US government should repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which says that providers are not liable for the information that third parties transmit.
She also cautioned parents about the use of social media by children, stating, ‘If you have children, you shouldn’t let them use social media until they’re old enough to use it.’ While laws banning TikTok are currently being drafted in the United States and Italy, Ressa said, ‘This is a great attempt,’ but added, ‘It’s not just TikTok that we should be worried about, it’s all social media.’
In addition, Ressa expressed concern about the declining quality of information due to generative AI and presented examples of many websites generated by poor quality AI. She suggested, ‘This research was done before generative AI really took off. One day generative AI will surpass our intelligence.’
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