During her morning conference on February 17, Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, addressed the debate over social media regulation and the transparency of their algorithms, particularly highlighting the platform X, owned by Elon Musk. Her statement was in response to a question from journalist José Lebeña of Publimetro Mexico, who mentioned the recent security summit in Munich, where European leaders and U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance discussed proposals to eliminate anonymity on social networks and make the algorithms of these platforms public.
Sheinbaum acknowledged that the topic is 'interesting to debate,' but emphasized that the main problem with X lies in the proliferation of bots and fake accounts used for disinformation campaigns. 'It has been heavily loaded with fake accounts, with bots, with trolls, that are often linked to black campaigns, particularly against personalities or governments,' she stated. Throughout the 2024 electoral campaign, Sheinbaum denounced that the platform hosted systematic attacks against her, with labels like 'narcopresident' or 'narcocandidate.' However, she assured that these campaigns 'had no impact' because her team was able to demonstrate that most of the accounts behind these terms were fake.
In her argument, Sheinbaum emphasized that while she is against any form of censorship, it is necessary to make the functioning of X and the presence of automated accounts transparent. Her call to Elon Musk could reignite the debate on the responsibility of large tech platforms in regulating digital information and protecting public discourse. 'There should be transparency about which accounts are real and which are not,' she pointed out, adding that regulation should not focus on limiting freedom of expression but on preventing digital manipulation from generating artificial trends.
The president of Mexico proposed that X implement measures to differentiate between real users and automated or paid accounts, in addition to regulating the mass purchase of accounts aimed at influencing public opinion through manufactured trends. The issue of transparency and regulation of social networks has gained relevance internationally, with debates like the one at the security summit in Munich where European leaders discussed similar proposals.
The stance of the Mexican government remains balanced between the need to regulate the impact of fake accounts and avoiding restrictions on freedom of expression. The controversy also centers on Elon Musk, not only for his role as the owner of X but also for his advisory role in the Donald Trump administration, raising questions about potential political influence behind the platform’s decisions. For now, Sheinbaum has made it clear that her position is firm regarding the need for greater transparency on social media, without falling into restrictions that could be interpreted as censorship.
