Ireland‘s Electoral Commission Chief Executive Art O’Leary is demanding that Big Tech companies censor social media platforms or face “reputational consequences.” O’Leary wants tech giants to squash so-called “disinformation” that can damage “democracy.”
“They [social media companies] are very conscious that their platforms are a place where quite serious damage can be done to democracy,” O’Leary said. “The implications for social media companies [if they fail to act on disinformation] aren’t good. To be accused after the event of having impacted on the outcome of an election is huge,” O’Leary continued.
The kind of “disinformation” from which O’Leary wants to protect “democracy” appears to be anything that could help right-wing parties in the upcoming Irish and European elections. Reports the Irish Examiner: “Garda Security & Intelligence and broadcasting regulator Coimisiún na Meán, which is charged with dealing with disinformation and online harm more generally, are increasing their level of cooperation to investigate disinformation from the far-right, which is expected to ramp up in the next few weeks.”
Ireland has been rocked by widespread popular protests against the government’s mass migration policies, with another major organized protest planned in Dublin on Saturday. A recent poll found that half of the Irish population now wants checkpoints at the Northern Irish border to keep out waves of asylum seekers. Such border checkpoints at the border were once seen as symbols of British oppression.
As in much of the European Union (EU), right-wing populist candidates in Ireland are expected to see a significant surge of support in the upcoming European elections. The EU, equally concerned about right-wing electoral success, has begun mobilizing a mass online censorship plan.
