The Moroccan Observatory for Digital Sovereignty (OSMN) calls on all civil society organizations, the government, and security agencies to rapidly mobilize and coordinate their efforts to address “the dangerous decline in the quality of content on the Moroccan web”.
Concerned about the dangers of the proliferation and multiplication of fake news and inappropriate content, the OSMN calls for strict enforcement of the laws against anyone who promotes content in a way that harms the country’s reputation and breaks its laws on digital platforms, stressed a press release from the observatory.
OMSN’s president, Mustapha Meloui, said “As much as we believe in the freedom of speech guaranteed by these platforms and guaranteed by our country, we are deeply concerned by the reality of the web in Morocco in terms of inappropriate content and shameful practices coming from people who consider themselves “influencers” and whose only objective is to achieve material gains.”
Meloui cautions that this digital reality might cause serious harm to people’s health and psychological well-being, not to mention the risk of compromising Moroccan identity and attempting to erase it.
Therefore, the Observatory has established a set of practical steps aimed at reducing or at least alleviating this quandary.
The OMSN supports encouraging others to learn to assess the reliability of sources, recognize bias, and query dubious material while also promoting the development of critical thinking through one’s own education.
Through year-round media efforts, it is in the best interests of a healthy and secure digital environment for everyone to increase user awareness of and education about the risks associated with this kind of information.
The OMSN wants to establish cells to monitor and track these contents and encourages all citizens to report any dangerous or offensive content.
In order to develop a generation with a critical mind, capable of analyzing the information and the various contents that it consumes on digital platforms, as well as to promote information, the Observatory also recommended including the subject of digital education in various branches and courses of study, starting in primary school.
The OMSN advocates for the inclusion of training related to the meticulous vetting of material and its sources as well as the strengthening of the ethics of journalism and media professions.