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Spain changes law so social media accounts cannot spread fake news
Minster Bolaños believes this law will make life more difficult for people who dedicate their time to spreading lies
Social Media users with more than 100,000 followers will now be held accountable if they are caught spreading false information. They will then be forced by new government laws to rectify the posts publicly. This decision was established in a draft of the law on the right to rectification that was approved this Tuesday December 17 by the Council of Ministers.
The Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, has announced that the objective is to adapt this right to the new digital environment so that high-impact users on social networks also have to rectify "when citizens are affected by false, inaccurate information, by a hoax or a lie".
"I think that we will facilitate the right to rectification and make life more difficult for those who are dedicated to lying and spreading hoaxes," Mr Bolaños added.
This digital measure that the government is taking is part of the regeneration plan announced months ago by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, after the judicialisation of the case of his wife, Begoña Gómez. This new regulation will come in to replace the existing one which was set in 1984.
The new law is intended to streamline the one now in place and to adapt it to the current situation of the digitalised world. The government has claimed that this new law will help improve "public debate and democracy," according to Bolaños.
The draft bill at this moment contains 7 articles and some of them relate to digital media because of its importance in the modern age compared to traditional media. The new laws will give people up to 10 days to rectify a social media post if it carries fake news.
The user will also have to issue a notice that the information has been rectified. If they do not do so, the procedure will follow the channels that are also provided now, which is to go to court if the reader considers it necessary.
The main talking point of the draft is the inclusion of social media users with more than 100,000 followers who, on occasion, have a "greater diffusion than many media outlets." Bolaños has stressed that "there are professionals of hoaxes and lies who muddy the waters every day" and the government official is trying to put an end to this.
However, the problem that many will have with this new law, if it is passed, is that it is very difficult to determine what constitutes fake news and lies. The government must be careful not to take this judgment upon themselves, as this will only erode democracy in the country by curbing free speech and hindering the rights of those that may hold different opinions from the official networks.
If this happens, Bolaños will not clear the muddy waters that he claims exist, but will only muddy them further.
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