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Maria Ressa: platform accountability and truth are existential issues for democracies
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Summary
Nobel laureate Maria Ressa told the IGF that platform manipulation, deepfakes and algorithmic echo chambers are accelerating threats to democracy and urged immediate action on platform accountability and human agency.
Maria Ressa, vice chair of the IGF leadership panel and Nobel laureate, used her closing remarks in Lillestrøm to frame online misinformation, algorithmic manipulation and deepfakes as existential threats to democratic societies and to press for platform accountability.
“Platform accountability isn't censorship. Far from it. It is safety. It is restoring democracy's immune system,” Ressa said, urging delegates to treat online harms as real‑world violence.
Ressa outlined three core challenges: the battle for truth, where she cited studies showing lies travel faster than facts; the battle for human agency against algorithms that reward outrage; and the battle over whether artificial intelligence will augment human judgment or replace it. She warned: “We—re not moving fast enough. We—re still moving too slow.”
Ressa said she had seen social media shift from a tool of liberation to “a weapon of oppression” in the Philippines and pointed to similar dynamics in other countries. She called on participants to make concrete commitments, hold themselves accountable and remember that “every algorithm reflects human values.”
Why it matters: Ressa’s remarks placed platform design and digital policy at the center of democratic resilience. Her call for platform accountability as a safety measure reframes regulatory debates in human‑rights terms and emphasizes urgency ahead of policy reviews and national debates on AI and online harms.
Her comments were delivered alongside other closing speakers who urged faster, more inclusive governance responses to AI and to protect children online. Ressa also encouraged delegates to consult the IGF statements and keep pressure on platforms and policymakers to act.
