Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment Detailed Scrutiny of Online Advertising and Social Media (Transparency) Bill 2017 Spokespersons: Séamus Dooley, Irish Secretary/Assistant General Secretary, UK & Ireland Dr Michael Foley, Ethics, Council, NUJ Wednesday 27 th June 2018
The National Union of Journalists is grateful to the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for the invitation to address you on the Online Advertising and Social Media Transparency Bill 2017. We commend Deputy James Lawless on taking the initiative in bringing forward this Private Members Bill and note the cross party support for the principles contained within the proposed legislation. The NUJ's code of conduct has set out the main principles of UK and Irish journalism since 1936. The code is part of the rules of our union. The code is included as Appendix 1. The Bill is consistent with the aims and objectives of the NUJ Code and four principles are especially relevant. Principles (1) and (2) state that a journalist: 1. At all times upholds and defends the principle of media freedom, the right of freedom of expression and the right of the public to be informed. 2. Strives to ensure that information disseminated is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair. Principle (4) requires that a journalist Differentiates between fact and opinion. Principle (10) demands that a journalist Does not by way of statement, voice or appearance endorse by advertisement any commercial product or service save for the promotion of her/his own work or of the medium by which she/he is employed. All these principles are predicated on the importance of transparency. In the practice of journalism, whether on traditional platforms or in digital platforms, journalists must operate in an open and transparent fashion and our union will always support a journalist who resists pressure to do otherwise. This Bill is predicated on the same principles. Regardless of the medium the audience has an absolute right to have news presented fairly and is equally entitled to have adverting presented in a transparent fashion. Online advertising is pervasive. The use of algorithms has the potential to influence the viewer or listener in a subliminal fashion, to moulid public opinion and to shape the outcome of democratic elections. 2
In her submission to this committee on April 17 th the Data Protection Commissioner, Ms Helen Dixon, referred to the potential influence of micro-targeting or online behavioral advertising on consumers and on citizens in the exercise of their political choices. The National Union of Journalists is gravely concerned at the concept of political microtargeting and it is this issue which is directly relevant to working journalists. The collection and use of data used to target individuals on demographic, geographic and/or behavioural segments has profound implications for the democratic process. Reading the previous submissions to this Committee and the comments of Deputy Lawless in moving the Bill I can say that we welcome the emerging consensus that action is needed to ensure that hidden forces should not be allowed to determine the outcome of elections. In this regard we note and commend the work of the Transparent Referendum Initiative (TRI) who did so much to bring openness to the funding of on-line advertising in the recent 8 th amendment referendum. Liz Carolan and Craig Dwyer have performed an important public service. They were supported by the Geary Institute, UCD and their detailed analysis will be of invaluable assistance to political scientists. Their mission statement, stated in clear and simple language, underlined the need for this legislation: Social media ads can be highly targeted based on a person's location, demographics and interests, and can influence voter behavior. Yet at the moment they are invisible to everyone except the recipient, the platform, and the person who pays. This makes it difficult for journalists, campaigns and regulators to carry out the important work of making sure referendums are fair: fact-checking, countering misinformation and identifying where financing laws campaign are being contravened. The key findings of the Transparent Referendum Initiative were: Ads from untraceable groups were used to mislead voters, discredit political figures and groups, mimic official or neutral information sources, gather voter data and share disturbing images. We also saw overseas and unregistered groups spending untraceable funds trying to influence the outcome of the vote, exploiting the legal loophole A large but unquantifiable amount of untransparent spending happened on YouTube and Google, but TRI were not able to find a way to track or monitor this activity. Voluntary steps by Google and Facebook to restrict foreign interference were both insufficient (spending was displaced to other providers) and unsuccessful (they have insufficient control over their systems to implement their own policies). 3
The belated decision of Google to ban all adverts relating to the 8 th amendment referendum and Facebook s announcement that they would only allow adverts relating to the referendum to be bought by organizations located within the Republic of Ireland underlined the need for this legislation. The Cambridge Analytica scandal served as a global wake-up call and the Online Advertising and Social Media (Transparency) Bill 2017 is, therefore, timely. Democracy can be enhanced by online media, by the opportunities for engagement in debates and discussions. Online advertising is a fact of life and there is no benefit in bemoaning the emergence of new digital platforms. What we must do is ensure that the public interest is served by appropriate legislation. It is worth noting that Google, Facebook and Twitter operate in commercial opposition to mainstream media and pose a significant threat to the existence of traditional newspapers. The NUJ has long demanded a Commission on the Future of the Media in Ireland and any such Commission would have to include an economic analysis of the media in Ireland. It should also look at the role of the media in democracy and public interest journalism can be fostered. 4
APPENDIX I NUJ code of conduct A journalist: 1. At all times upholds and defends the principle of media freedom, the right of freedom of expression and the right of the public to be informed. 2. Strives to ensure that information disseminated is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair. 3. Does her/his utmost to correct harmful inaccuracies. 4. Differentiates between fact and opinion. 5. Obtains material by honest, straightforward and open means, with the exception of investigations that are both overwhelmingly in the public interest and which involve evidence that cannot be obtained by straightforward means. 6. Does nothing to intrude into anybody s private life, grief or distress unless justified by overriding consideration of the public interest. 7. Protects the identity of sources who supply information in confidence and material gathered in the course of her/his work. 8. Resists threats or any other inducements to influence, distort or suppress information and takes no unfair personal advantage of information gained in the course of her/his duties before the information is public knowledge. 9. Produces no material likely to lead to hatred or discrimination on the grounds of a person s age, gender, race, colour, creed, legal status, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation. 10. Does not by way of statement, voice or appearance endorse by advertisement any commercial product or service save for the promotion of her/his own work or of the medium by which she/he is employed. 11. A journalist shall normally seek the consent of an appropriate adult when interviewing or photographing a child for a story about her/his welfare. 12. Avoids plagiarism. 5