Transparency and accountability of Big Tech
The liability problem
Section 230 of the American Communications Decency Act has freed big tech from accountability until today. Social media platforms, search engines and increasingly private messaging platforms and generative AI platforms have however moved beyond being a platform that provides a space for information to taking editorial decisions: their recommender and moderation algorithms define what gets visibility, their training data set defines what speech is allowed.
Citizens and news media are at the mercy of big tech, and their changing priorities, profit-driven nature, and in-parts political agenda to disseminate and access information.
Some jurisdictions, notably the EU and UK, have taken steps to install an accountability regime, yet implementation is still insufficient.
Similarly, researchers and NGOs are at the mercy of big tech to study their impact on society and democracy. Transparency about policies, algorithms and data access provisions have varied with changing political and economic interests.
This poses great dangers to society, as big tech govern a space which should be a public good in which transparency and accountability are key principles.
Our work on this theme
How to mobilise the Open Government Partnership to promote information integrity in Francophone Africa: 2026 Report (FR)
In spring 2026, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) commissioned FID to work with Benin, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Senegal to incorporate the issues of information integrity and press freedom into their national action plans. In its report, FID provides an overview of the issues and presents recommendations for the four countries.
The report provides an overview of the discussions held during meetings involving the various stakeholders and sets out specific recommendations for strengthening information integrity and press freedom. It also serves as a source of inspiration for other countries undertaking open government reforms.
Ads for News, News for Ads｜The role of government in reforming the digital advertising market
As the world is still grappling with the threats of disinformation, public interest media’s sustainability keeps eroding. In its latest policy brief, the Forum on Information and Democracy calls for a structural reform of the online advertising market to reroute part of its revenues towards trustworthy news sources.
The policy brief entitled Ads for News, News for Ads provides recommendations to governments which have a direct responsibility in ensuring the condition for a fair online advertising market. Recommendations encompass immediate, actionable steps such as incentives for advertisers or mandating a media exception in programmatic advertising.
Latest news on the same theme
How to mobilise the Open Government Partnership to promote information integrity in Francophone Africa
In spring 2026, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) commissioned FID to work with Benin, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Senegal to incorporate the issues of information integrity…
New challenges and approaches in the fight against Climate Disinformation – insights from the workstream on information integrity on climate change and the environment
Climate disinformation is not only employed to delay climate action, but is interconnected with other goals, such as foreign interference, as the conversations of the workstream…
Building societal resilience against climate mis- and disinformation: Findings from the Sixth Meeting of the Workstream on Information Integrity on Climate Change & the Environment
As extreme climate events increase in their scale and number, and as mis- and disinformation online reach unprecedented levels, it is imperative that citizens globally have…
Addressing the regulatory blindspot: recommendations to promote information integrity on private messaging platforms
As private messaging platforms keep posing threats to information integrity and access to reliable information, the Forum on Information and Democracy and its partners are releasing…
