Wrong time, wrong place, wrong group – or quite the opposite, depending on the point of view. But G20 ministers were meeting in Brazil last week, just as the country keeps putting its own democracy and laws to the serious test in an escalating “war” with Elon Musk’s X.
It took no time for G20 to show which side it’s taking in the battle between a government given to online censorship and in clear need of controlling the political and media narratives, versus a major social platform that has broken ranks with its peers as an obedient executioner of censorship, including on behalf of various governments.
G20 ministers who converged on Maceio in northern Brazil late last week didn’t quite spell all this out (does anybody speak clearly anymore? The higher, the fewer, as they say).
But, the writing is clearly on the wall: a statement issued on Friday is chock-full of words such as, “misinformation,” AI (and coming up with new regulation around this), and digital platforms’ “accountability.”
There is even talk of the need for online platforms to place themselves “in line with relevant policies and applicable legal frameworks.”
Was this written by Brazil’s government, or by G20, some might wonder, half-amused? However, the story is not amusing – one of the persistent arguments coming out of X is that the seemingly incessant flow of censorship demands is in fact breaking Brazil’s own Constitution and applicable law.
Therefore, this particular point in the G20 readout might sound not only like the organization itself falling in line with Brazil – and other autocratic-presenting governments – but also engaging in a fair amount of hypocrisy.
Not for nothing, Brazilian officials are happy with this turn of events.
The country’s presidency secretary for digital policy Joao Brant has basically suggested in statements for wire services that the moment may be momentous.
“It is the first time in the G20 history that the group recognizes the problem of disinformation and calls for transparency and accountability from digital platforms,” AP quoted Brant.
There’s more: G20 has adopted “guidelines” to deal with the development of “AI” – also a regular feature in the narratives pushed by governments and entities prone to online censorship.
It’s almost like seeking a way to assure that censorship will go on, and grow stronger, in a future AI era.
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