Wilson Soto, parliamentarian for Acción Popular, reported that he withdrew his bill that required a professional title for content creators, clarifying that this decision “does not respond to pressure, but to an exercise in listening, responsibility and understanding that this is not the best time.”
“Listen carefully to the various opinions expressed in recent days and I consider that this is not the right time to promote a proposal of this nature. Democracy also implies knowing how to stop, listen and understand the feelings of citizens and especially those who could be affected in some way,” said Soto.
Likewise, he maintained his position that the problems that generated this initiative are real and exist, since there are social media users “exposed to wrong information” that negatively impact the health or education of citizens.
“We cannot ignore that a person with thousands or millions of followers has an enormous capacity to influence sensitive decisions of Peruvian families. We have seen it in cases of unproven treatments, unsupported medical advice, risky financial advice or content that can even endanger the physical integrity of people,” he clarified.
What did Soto’s bill consist of?
The congressman proposed that content creators on social networks must have a title related to the subject on which they speak on their platforms, an action that has been considered an attack on freedom of expression.
In that sense, the parliamentarian defended the proposal at the time, pointing out that these measures are applied in other countries, such as China, and that the objective is not to censor, but to prevent the spread of incorrect information.
The proposal included a system of sanctions ranging from fines to multi-year disqualifications.
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