President Biden’s surgeon on Thursday called on major technology platforms to provide information on Covi-19 misinformation on social networks, search engines, crowded platforms, e-commerce platforms and instant messaging systems.
Request from the Surgeon General’s Office Technology Technologies to disseminate information on CVD-19 misinformation on their site and from examples of vaccine misinformation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The announcement requires companies to provide information on “how many users have been exposed or exposed to erroneous information” as well as demographic data that is disproportionately exposed or damaged by the misinformation.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murti asked for information on the main sources of CoV-19 misinformation, including those involved in the sale of unconfirmed Covi-19 products, services and treatments.
“Technology companies now have the opportunity to be clear and transparent to the American public about false information on their platforms,” Dr. Murti said in an email. “This is to protect the health of the country,” he added.
Companies must submit the data by May 2. Rejection of information is not punishable, but the announcement is the first formal request from the Biden management of tech companies to provide copyrighted information, according to the surgeon general’s office.
Six months ago, Dr. Murti used his first formal advice to the United States to negotiate extensively on the technology and social media companies he was suing for failing to stop the spread of dangerous health information. He called the misinformation “an emergency for public health.”
The request is part of President Biden’s Covenant National Preparatory Plan, detailed by the White House on Wednesday, and a roadmap for a new epidemic that Covi-19 will cause “minor disturbances.” In his inaugural address on Tuesday night, Mr. Biden outlined the details of the plan.
In addition to asking for false information from tech forums, the surgeon called on public health providers and the community to provide information on how negative information about CV-19 has negatively affected patients and communities.
“We ask that anyone with a clear understanding – from research and data collection to personal stories – discuss the role of misinformation in public health -” said Dr. Murti.