Minister calls bill demanding digital platforms publicly correct false information ‘good news for democracy’

The draft law replaces legislation from 1984 and targets internet users who have more than 100,000 followers on a single platform or 200,000 across several, the justice ministry said in a statement.

These outlets and the platforms that host them must have a mechanism to facilitate citizens’ right to ask that false or inaccurate information that harms them be corrected publicly, the ministry said.

The correction request will no longer have to be addressed to the outlet’s director because confirming their identity is difficult for many “pseudo media”, justice minister Félix Bolaños told a press conference.

  • jarfil@beehaw.org
    6·
    2 days ago

    government’s plan for “democratic renewal”, launched earlier this year after a judge began investigating Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, for alleged corruption and influence peddling.

    A group with far-right ties that submitted the complaint admitted it was based on unverified media reports.

    For additional context:

    • Regional right-wing leaders, were responsible for not alerting citizens on time of the 2024 Spanish floods… then attempted to cover it over and over with unverified “news”.
    • A judicial document in a case against the opposition’s government in Madrid, was leaked to the press… and promptly unverified sources started blaming the Government, which has been proven to be false.

    On the flip side, ALL politicians have started using Twitter/X, TikTok, Facebook, etc. over the last decade or so… and they will ALL have to follow these rules, since they have more than 100k followers each.