The UK Government must focus its attention on tackling ‘fake news‘ and social media misinformation to protect Britain’s democracy, MPs have said.

Damian Collins, Chair of the Commons Culture Select Committee, said he is “disappointed” by the Government’s response so far and insists a larger crackdown is required.

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said in a report that it wants the Government to ramp up efforts to prevent the manipulation of personal data, misinformation and foreign interference in elections.

An Era of Misinformation

The previous two years have been mired by ongoing sagas involving social media manipulation, election-meddling and dubious data harvesting.

Throughout the furore, a number of recommendations have been put forward to tackle the issue, with Damian Collins arguably one of the most outspoken proponents of increased government regulation.

In July, the committee published its interim report on fake news. The report warned that Britain could face a “democratic crisis” if immediate action wasn’t taken. MPs also called for new powers for the Electoral Commission – which included bigger fines and greater regulation of social media firms – to enable it to take a harder stance.

In its official response last week the Government only acknowledged three of the 42 recommendations put forward, the committee said.

Some critical recommendations, it noted, had been fully rejected. These included levies on social media firms to fund digital literacy education and tougher limits on political donations.

In a statement, the committee said it was “disappointed that the Government has rejected its recommendation for an educational levy to be raised by social media companies to finance a comprehensive educational framework.”

The government said action is currently underway. However, it has urged the committee to await the outcome of other reports exploring these issues. It also recommended the committee wait until consultations on Electoral Commission powers are complete.

Despite cautioning restraint, the government was criticised by Collins, who suggested ministers have been stalling on the issue to “further delay desperately needed announcements on the ongoing issues of harmful and misleading content being spread through social media.”

“Hostile State Activity”

Foreign interference in elections has been a recurring theme since the 2016 US Election and Brexit Referendum. Collins questioned the Government’s unclear stance on Russian interference. The Prime Minister has previously warned about the “weaponisation” of social media, along with “fake news” to disrupt elections.

The lack of a concise, clear-cut stance on the issue must be addressed, Collins insisted.

“We need to see a more coordinated approach across government to combat campaigns of disinformation being organised by Russian agencies seeking to disrupt and undermine our democracy,” he said.

Collins added that the Government’s response gave “no real indication” of what action is being taken on an important issue.

The Government insisted there was no complacency on the issue and would take action against “hostile state activity” where appropriate.

No More “Fake News”

While the to and fro between Government and the committee continues, there has been one glimpse of compromise; specifically in the use of certain terminology.

Fake news has been deemed a “misleading” term, the meaning of which is now convoluted. The preferred term will now be “disinformation”, which the Government defines as: “The deliberate creation and sharing of false and/or manipulated information that is intended to deceive and mislead audiences, either for the purposes of causing harm, or for political, personal or financial gain.”

While this does not signal the end of fake news it will ensure that appropriate terminology is used by representatives of the Government when discussing the issue.