Mark Zuckerberg's Concerns About Internet Freedom In China

Facebook illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, in fact, feels a little worried about China. This is because many countries have started to try to imitate China's approach in regulating internet freedom which tends to be authoritarian.

This was revealed by Mark in a virtual interview session with EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton. Mark felt that the regulations applied by China in regulating internet access for their citizens were quite strict.

"To be honest, I think there is a model coming out of countries like China which tend to have very different values from Western countries which are more open and democratic," Zuckerberg said as quoted by CNBC International, Tuesday, May 19.

Zuck's concern is not the first to be expressed. He has repeatedly criticized China's overly authoritarian steps in censoring content on the internet, thus limiting people's freedom of expression.

Nevertheless, he did not deny the need to filter content in cyberspace. For this reason, he suggested cooperation between the government and digital companies to control dangerous content such as hoaxes and so on.

Facebook hopes that the message of freedom of expression will cause regulators to see companies as allies to a more authoritarian internet, rather than targets for tougher regulations.

"I think there are big questions around balancing things like freedom of expression and security. However, I don't think there is any question that there will be rules. I think the question is, whose framework is going to win around the world," added Zuck.

On the other hand, Facebook has just formed a team called the Oversight Board or independent supervisory board. Later they will be in charge of overseeing the content uploaded on Mark Zuckerberg's platform.

Quoted from the official page, each adult member will moderate the latest content uploaded on Facebook and Instagram. The contents will be reviewed from various aspects and points of view, including from the value of freedom of expression within the framework of international human rights norms.