Finding quality information on big platforms a struggle in clickbait era, says regulator

The government and civil society should collaborate to help trustworthy news agencies negotiate for greater prominence on digital platforms and mobile apps, says Pirongrong Ramasoota, a member of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

She made the remarks as a panelist at the 2024 Global News Forum co-organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and Thai PBS.

In the age of social media, disinformation and clickbait seem to be dominating the news ecosystem, Ms Pirongrong said. Since platforms’ economic viability rides on algorithms driven by data, the quality and accuracy of news seems to matter less than users’ engagement and clicks, she added.

But with the growing trend of “platformisaton”, news agencies have no choice but to migrate online and be dictated by algorithms, Ms Pirongrong said.

Unlike in Europe and other Asian countries, Thais seem to be getting their news primarily from social media, especially third-party platforms.

Proper attribution to news agencies is not always very prominent, especially when it comes to global platforms with high bargaining power, she said. This is unfair and suggests a lack of transparency, Ms Pirongrong said.

“Since algorithmic relevance is not a regulatory issue, news agencies must collaborate with the public sector and civil society to ensure they get prominence, especially on digital platforms, mobile apps and connected TVs,” she added.

In Europe and Canada, there have been efforts by government regulators as well as political and civic groups to push for labelling and clear branding of trustworthy public service media on YouTube, she said.

Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing with Samsung for a prominent operator profile for public service broadcasters on its connected TVs.

In addition, moves have been made to pass laws to have legacy public service broadcasters pre-installed as mobile apps, Ms Pirongrong said.

A similar measure is needed for Thailand to help rebuild trust in the news ecosystem, she said.

The NBTC is now working on a social credit model whereby each licensed broadcaster would be rated on its content quality — starting with the news — so as to be eligible for a certification of trustworthiness.

This would be the basis for negotiations about the prominence of these news sources on online platforms in the future, she added.

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