Social media both supports and endangers democracy
Social media is both an opportunity and a threat to democracy. In the best case, it is an opportunity: The basis of democracy is everyone’s right to participate in joint discussion, the development of society, and the defence of values that are important to them. Anyone can create and share content on social media. This is precisely where the threat lies: while the activities of traditional media are guided by good journalistic practice and legislation, on social media, the users make their own rules.
We all wield power on social media
On social media, the greatest power is exercised by those whose content is distributed the most widely. This is influenced by algorithms and content sponsorship, but also by each of us through our own choices. Every shared link, reaction, comment and occasion of not commenting wields power in the media. Active citizenship involves identifying situations in which it is important to be particularly careful about what information you share or in which situations you let your emotions get the better of you. Together, the actions of all social media users create unwritten rules for what is OK and what is not OK online.
Everyone can use their own media power and actively intervene in situations with their comments and reactions, for example, when someone is harassed or bullied on social media. This requires courage, but the more common this type of activity is, the less it takes. As human rights defender Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “The greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”
Freedom of expression cannot override other fundamental rights
The Constitution of Finland guarantees freedom of expression as a fundamental right for everyone: everyone is allowed to express, publish and receive opinions, information and other messages without anyone preventing them in advance. However, freedom of expression also has its limits. Legislation serves a holistic purpose: the exercise of one’s freedom of expression cannot violate other fundamental rights.
One of the fundamental rights is equality: “No one shall, without an acceptable reason, be treated differently from other persons on the ground of sex, age, origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, disability or other reason that concerns his or her person.”
The Criminal Code restricts freedom of expression by making, for example, defamation, dissemination of information that violates personal privacy and ethnic agitation punishable offences. These are called hate crimes. Preventing and investigating them is the duty of the police, but it also requires broader social pressure. The law is the basis, but in practice, the way each of us communicates information and expresses their opinions is what makes up the shared public atmosphere. In addition to freedom of expression, we also talk about responsibility in expression. If successful, the debate can be fierce, but also deliberative and respecting the other person’s right to their own point of view.
The term hate speech is used in public discourse. Hate speech does not mean disagreeing, questioning another person’s opinion, or expressing unpleasant or even shocking opinions in public. These also fall within the scope of the freedom of expression. The recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe defines hate speech as follows: “Hate speech shall be understood as covering all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance.”
Good journalistic practice includes an obligation to follow the public debate
The appendix to the Journalist’s Guide provides instructions on the content produced by the public on the media website:
- The editorial team must monitor its website and strive to prevent the publication of content that violates privacy and human dignity. In addition to discrimination, content that incites violence or incites hatred against an individual or a group of people violates human dignity.
- The editorial team must immediately remove content that violates human dignity and privacy.
- Online forums targeted at children and young people must be monitored with particular care.
- The public must be given the opportunity to notify the editorial team of inappropriate content in such a way that the reporter also receives confirmation of this.
- The boundary between public forums and editorial material must be kept clear on the media websites.