A report from the Helen Clark Foundation is calling on an independent regulatory body to be created to oversee the regulation of social media companies. This would replace the current regime in which social media companies are largely left to self-regulate how they monitor and remove harmful content. Alongside the fact that the current regime relies too heavily on self-regulation is the fact that the legislation which does exist largely predates the existence of social media, meaning some issues fall through the cracks and it's not immediately clear whether social media falls under some existing legislation. Even legislation designed for the age of social media like the Harmful Digital Communications Act, which was drawn up in response to online bullying, specifically exempt social media companies from liability. Another issue is how to appropriately sanction social media companies who break the rules.

Source: Stuff May 13, 2019 20:26 UTC