Paul Murphy: Calls to Turn Off Recommender Algorithms
Paul Murphy criticised government inaction on online toxic material and urged social media recommender algorithms to be switched off by default, particularly for children. He announced he will introduce a bill next week at first stage to turn off recommender algorithms by default and to ban them entirely for users under 18.
Paul Murphy said big tech's recommender algorithms drive a torrent of toxic content by design to keep users online and increase profit. He argued the government has so far offered speeches and expressions of concern but failed to take meaningful action to confront the platforms.
Murphy said the government set up the Commission No Man to regulate online safety and that the commission's draft online safety code recommended turning off recommender algorithms by default. He said that recommendation was removed after lobbying by big tech, a change confirmed at the AI committee a couple of weeks ago.
Murphy detailed harms caused by algorithmic recommendation - execution videos and racist far-right propaganda are promoted, teenage boys are fed misogynistic manosphere content within minutes of using a new phone, and teenage girls are inundated with viral videos promoting eating disorders, suicide and self-harm. He also said women can be bombarded with upsetting videos about miscarriage and stillbirth once the algorithm identifies pregnancy.
Murphy said the forthcoming bill will require recommender algorithms to be off by default and ban them entirely for users under 18. He emphasised the measure is not intended to censor content but to stop platforms pushing toxic material at standard and to take on the big tech companies to make a real difference.
Main argument
Paul Murphy said big tech's recommender algorithms drive a torrent of toxic content by design to keep users online and increase profit. He argued the government has so far offered speeches and expressions of concern but failed to take meaningful action to confront the platforms.
Commission recommendation removed
Murphy said the government set up the Commission No Man to regulate online safety and that the commission's draft online safety code recommended turning off recommender algorithms by default. He said that recommendation was removed after lobbying by big tech, a change confirmed at the AI committee a couple of weeks ago.
Examples of harm
Murphy detailed harms caused by algorithmic recommendation - execution videos and racist far-right propaganda are promoted, teenage boys are fed misogynistic manosphere content within minutes of using a new phone, and teenage girls are inundated with viral videos promoting eating disorders, suicide and self-harm. He also said women can be bombarded with upsetting videos about miscarriage and stillbirth once the algorithm identifies pregnancy.
Proposed legislation
Murphy said the forthcoming bill will require recommender algorithms to be off by default and ban them entirely for users under 18. He emphasised the measure is not intended to censor content but to stop platforms pushing toxic material at standard and to take on the big tech companies to make a real difference.
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Transcript
We all know the harm that can result from online toxic material, we know especially the harm it can be done to children, and we've had fine speeches from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs making that point. But the question is, what is the government going to do about it? And the answer so far is nothing. It is a fine issue to make speeches about and to act concerns on, but when it comes to taking action and taking on the big tech companies, so far we have a record of inaction by this government. The government set up the Commission No Man to regulate this. The Commission recommended in its draft online safety code that social media companies should turn off recommender algorithms by default. This one simple measure would have a massive impact, but what happened to that recommendation was removed. It was removed after lobbying by big tech companies. We had that confirmed at the AI committee just a couple of weeks ago. Turning off recommender algorithms by default, turning them off entirely when the user is under 18, would be transformative. At a stroke it would stop the torrent of toxicity that big tech is flooding us with so that we stay online for longer and buy more stuff. Big tech is exploiting the human instinct to rubberneck, even though we do not like what we see, even though it disgusts us. It is why their algorithms recommend execution videos and racist far-right propaganda. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have turned us all into motorists gawking at car accidents. Turning off the algorithm would mean teenage boys no longer have misogynistic, manosphere content being pushed at them the minute they go online. That is what happens. You buy a new blank mobile phone, you set up a teenage boy's account, within half an hour you are flooded with this crap. Teenage girls could use social media to communicate with their friends without being inundated with viral videos promoting self-eating disorders, suicide and self-harm. Women could go online without being bombarded with upsetting videos about miscarriages and stillbirth as soon as the algorithm realises that they are pregnant. The point is not to censor this material, people can still look it up if they want. The point is to stop social media companies pushing toxic material at us at standard. To stop them normalising racism, sexism and transphobia. To stop Elon Musk exploiting his ownership and control of social media. To flood the zone, whip up fear and hatred and manipulate politics and push it to the far right around the world. That is why we will be introducing a bill next week at first stage to turn off recommender algorithms by default and to ban them entirely for children. To make a real difference we need to take on the big tech companies.