Another challenge is the spread of mis- and disinformation online that threatens transparent and factual democratic debate and may fuel polarisation, , . Factual debates and credible sources are being further eroded due to the accelerated prevalence and easy production of false and biased information online. Ultimately, the scale has tipped in favour of creators of content aimed to manipulate and undermine democracy.
Social media are typically available to their users free of charge. Platforms profit from selling advertisements and, therefore, seek to maximise the amount of time users spend on their platforms. Rather than focusing on supporting and promoting open democratic debates, they seek to keep the attention of the users by offering engaging and curated content to each user, moderated and recommended based on parameters that are unclear to both the users and the public. As a result, misinformation and disinformation, as well as other polarizing or harmful content, thrive on online platforms since they encourage user engagement by evoking strong feelings such as anger, , , . Consequently, such content may spread faster than more moderate and factual content.
This challenge is a global one, but more pressing in small language areas such as the Nordic region. Online platforms rely heavily on automated moderation to take down content that is illegal or in violation of their terms and conditions. Since such moderation tools are developed primarily for content in English, this leads to less effective moderation in small languages, and may increase the proportion of harmful content, . Added to this challenge, the principles of content moderation are global, which means that they are formulated in different cultural contexts than the Nordic. Accordingly, Nordic historical references, values and satire might get lost in the moderation process, and the wrong content may be taken down.
While these challenges endanger the democracies of today, they are even more pressing for the democracies of tomorrow. They also affect the future citizens of the Nordic countries – today’s children and youth – whose journey towards democratic citizenship takes place in an environment of misinformation and hateful speech. For malignant actors who wish to manipulate public opinion, the youth and children are especially vulnerable since they are the most digitally active across the population, . Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that the heavy use of social media and other digital platforms by children and youth has consequences on their general well-being. This needs to be followed closely.
The platforms collect enormous amounts of information about their users – from self-reported data to behavioural data, from information on your age to information on your health. Such information allows online platforms to micro-target content to individuals based on their interests but may also be abused for manipulative purposes, e.g., by targeting content and advertisements specifically to certain individuals in order to retain attention and maximise engagement.
The lack of transparency and accountability from online platforms regarding what citizens are exposed to in the algorithmic user feeds, their moderation practices and information on what they do with our data hampers effective public oversight. This is highly problematic since online platforms today constitute a democratic infrastructure that plays a central role in our social life and society at large. Consequently, we do not know nearly enough about how Big Tech and their platforms influence our society and our democratic debates, particularly how they impact our children and young people.
Finally, the rapid development of the tech industry and its corresponding influence on our lives for a long time has left these companies with almost no regulatory boundaries. Increasingly, regulation is catching up, and societies are deciding to set the rules for the platforms and not the other way around. Regulation, however, have a hard time keeping up with the intense and constant development of technological opportunities, and there are plenty of areas where democracies need to do more and demand more from online platforms.