A licence to post?

Soon we will need a licence before we can open a social media account.

Technology often accelerates past regulation, but when regulation catches up it often has similar characteristics.

When cars were first introduced there was no driving licence but it soon became clear there was a learning curve before you sat behind a potential killer machine.

Driving licences protect both the driver and their passengers, other drivers and bystanders. By enforcing a minimum set of standards and training we have become reasonably sure that anyone behind the wheel of an automobile has a basic competence.

Enforcement of the rules is done with police spot checks and automated cross referencing of licence plates with insurance and mot records.

It’s a good system and it basically works in most countries around the world. Accidents have fallen and roads are safer now than they were before licences were introduced.

Introducing a similar licence for social media could have a similar effect.

What would be the syllabus?

I suggest:

• Privacy policies – knowing what’s public and what’s private
• Social media rage – expressing an opinion without stepping into libel or incitement
• Moderated content – abiding by censorship rules.
• Fake news identification – understanding a source
• Media literacy – the difference between mediums
• Recommendation Engines – why particular content appears in the feed
• Reporting bad content – supporting moderation
• When not to share – understanding when a retweet or like could mean you are liable for spreading bad content

When you look at the list it is suddenly amazing that we let 13 year olds into social media with the power of global reach without a licence!