Czech schools urged to make media education a priority as algorithms continue to shape thinking through propaganda on social media
The algorithms of social media are having a rising impact on users and closing them off into information bubbles, increasing the polarization of society and facilitating the spread of disinformation and propaganda. Daniel Dočekal, an expert on how social media works, delivered that message at a conference on "Law and Child Protection in Cyberspace" held by the People in Need (Člověk v tísni) organization in the Czech Republic.
According to Dočekal, the only way to protect oneself against the algorithms is by not using social media in the first place – while on some platforms it is possible to partially transform how they are set up, others cannot be changed at all. Moreover, platforms such as TikTok have now absolutely changed how their users consume content, according to the expert.
While the originally chronological display of social media posts used to seem more natural to users, today it is the algorithms which decide who sees what when. The TikTok platform goes even further, primarily displaying new content according to the user’s interests instead of following accounts known to them, leading to a meteoric rise in its popularity, the expert said.
Dočekal warned that it is exactly such advanced algorithms which have the significant potential to manipulate users and which could make TikTok an essential instrument of hybrid warfare. Both American and European institutions are responding more and more intensively to the risks associated with TikTok.
In April, US President Joe Biden signed a law requiring the China-based owner of TikTok to sell its shares, otherwise the platform will be banned in the US nine months after the law was signed. The European Commission and European Parliament have already banned TikTok from being uploaded to devices used by their employees.
Another warning against the use of TikTok was issued in March 2023 by the Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency on devices facilitating access to critical infrastructure systems. “The risks associated with TikTok are not just a question of cybersecurity, though,” warned the director of the One World in the Schools program of People in Need, Karel Strachota.
Strachota referred to a survey undertaken in the US that showed those who use TikTok intensively are 50 % more likely to have positive attitudes toward China. The psychological repercussions of social media are also disturbing, especially for children and youth, in his view.
John Gallacher of Oxford University has pointed out in his research to a direct relationship between the amount of time spent on social media and rising levels of anxiety and depression, according to Strachota. Those most afflicted by this are adolescent girls, and in recent years the number of adolescent girls using social media who are receiving treatment for mental problems has risen.
Experts are recommending stricter regulation by the state, outreach to parents and the public about this issue, and an emphasis on media education in the schools. “Media education in the schools should be standard, not just an exceptional initiative,” Strachota said.
In 2019, the Czech Republic adopted a law on personal data protection to protect children according to which children under 15 need parental consent to use online services such as social media. The law also prevents children’s personal data being exploited for targeted advertising or marketing, for instance.
