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The Portfolio Committee on Communications is going ahead with its roundtable discussions on Tuesday on the Impact of Digital Media in Misinformation despite Facebook withdrawing from the discussions last week.
The discussions will also focus on Content moderation for the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE) set down for October this year.
The Chairperson Mr Boyce Maneli said Google was the only invited participant who showed a keen interest and readiness to take part in the discussions.
He also expressed his disappointment in Facebook's withdrawal.
Facebook said they withdrew as it was unclear as to how the roundtable, as originally envisaged, could be impactful without representatives from several social media platforms.
The social media company came under fire in 2016 during the US Elections where they were accused of not doing enough to combat fake news and misinformation which, according to experts, polarised the nation.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the criticism to heart and in a statement issued on the 7th of January, said: "Over the last several years, we have allowed President Trump to use our platform consistent with our own rules, at times removing content or labelling his posts when they violate our policies."
Both Facebook and Twitter suspended President Donald Trump from their platforms, indefinitely.
With the Local Government elections only a few months away it is understandable that Parliament would want to ensure a free and fair election without the threat of fake news and misinformation which has become such a big part of our lives.
Chairperson Maneli said Tuesday's roundtable discussion was just that, a discussion, and not an inquiry.
“We will continue to engage the sector on various topics in efforts to empower the committee and, in this particular case, to ensure that social media network platforms take necessary precautions to guard against misinformation and content moderation practices.”
Facebook assured the committee that they will continue to engage with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and various government departments, MP's and civil organisations to ensure the smooth running of the elections.
The Local Government Elections are set to take place on the 27th of October.
The IEC said they were in an advanced stage of planning for the elections, but there is a possibility of a postponement if it is found that the current conditions in the country and a possible third wave of Covid-19 are not conducive for free and fair elections to be held.
This is the first time such a process in terms of Section 14(4) of the Electoral Commission Act (51 of 1996) has been invoked in the history of South Africa's democracy.
