How to avoid the trap of algorithms?

– “We observe a number of negative new phenomena related to the Internet, such as disinformation, lack of a fair public debate, polarisation of views, information bubbles, or almost an open door to a completely new threat, which is deepfakes, etc. Are we dealing with this?” – asked Bogusław Chrabota, editor-in-chief of “Rzeczpospolita” daily, while opening the discussion, “Social and information mission of the media and citizens in the trap of content recommendation algorithms. How do we get out of it?”

Objective – commitment

According to Katarzyna Szymielewicz, co-founder and president of the Panoptykon Foundation, we are not really dealing with these challenges, and one of the reasons for the deep crisis on the web may be precisely the various types of algorithms created by big Internet platforms. Basically, they decide what content the users see in the first place. The problem is not their use as such, but the goals to be achieved.

– “The logic behind the algorithms is that the main goal is to gain user engagement. In the current reality, an average person is usually engaged by what is sensational, exciting, negative, outrageous, or unbelievable”, said K. Szymielewicz. People often take the bait, click, read, and reach out for more recommended content, which means they engage, and the biggest online players commercialise this engagement.

Reliability of sources

Katarzyna Szymielewicz pointed out that we have become hostage to the logic of the algorithms and will remain so until it is changed. This is also a problem for traditional media and publishers providing professional content created by journalists. This content is either becoming less visible on the web or it is “levelling down” in terms of quality, which is necessitated by the digital giants’ domination.

At the same time, participants in the discussion stressed that algorithms should not be demonised. – “They are not necessarily for manipulation and the result of their work is not only negative. All in all, they make our lives easier and allow us to get to the content we are interested in much faster”, said Marzena Tabor, head of "Rzeczpospolita’s online editorial department.

– “In my opinion, they are helpful in consuming a range of information on a daily basis because they save time. What we should be doing, first and foremost, is putting a lot of emphasis on education and increasing public awareness of the credibility of the content source”, she stresses.

As she pointed out, it is primarily professional media, building their brand on quality that provide reliable and verified information, what cannot always be said about the content provided by anonymous Internet users.

– “TikTok is indeed about making content engaging, but above all – making it safe”, Jakub Olek, head of public relations for TikTok in Central and Eastern Europe, pointed out in turn. – “TikTok will not be a place for free self-expression if it is not a safe place”, he added.

That is why the company has several solutions in place, the most important of which is the “cornerstone” of community rules on what can and cannot be published on TT. – “Content moderation is very important here. As a result, 90% of harmful content goes down before anyone sees it, and 97% goes down within 24 hours of posting”, said Jakub Olek.

EU reform

According to Jakub Olek, educational campaigns on how to recognise misinformation play an equally important role as do stricter safety requirements for the youngest users using the platform. For example, for those aged 13–15, the ability to receive and send direct messages is automatically disabled, and for those aged 15–17, live streaming capabilities are disabled.

Improvements in security on the big online platforms are indeed taking place, but that does not change the fact that, in practice, there is no control over their recommendation algorithms from the outside. Will the EU’s market reform of market services, the DSA and DMA directives, change anything in this respect?

– “These directives are currently the most important documents on our agenda”, said Paweł Lewandowski, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Digitalisation. Polish law has to implement them, although at the moment, due to the end of the Parliament’s work before the elections, the works have slowed down.

Under this new EU law, the possibility of using the users’ personal data (including in particular sensitive data, such as health status, political views, or religion) for profiling the content of displayed advertisements will be restricted, among other things. The largest platforms will also have to, for example, inform their users about the main parameters that their recommendation systems use.

Among other things, the DSA also introduces new regulations concerning the liability rules of all hosting providers for unlawful content added by users and the rules for the so-called content moderation (including, for example, the obligation to justify decisions relating to the removal of a given post or even the blocking of a given user’s account).

– “It is very important that finally the market will be subject to the most important part of any good law, namely sanctions”, Deputy Minister Paweł Lewandowski also stressed. Penalties for online intermediaries are to be up to 6% of their annual revenue.

– “It should be noted here that many provisions of the new law are already being implemented by online portals. Nevertheless, I am convinced that once it is fully implemented, we will wake up to a new reality”, assessed the Deputy Minister.

Who shapes public opinion?

However, Katarzyna Szymielewicz is less optimistic.