Ideas Platforms, Power and Democracy: Understanding the Influence of Social Media
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Aug 21, 2024 Experts discuss challenges in researching social media, including the resistance from Big Tech and right-wing lawsuits. They delve into the limited understanding of human behavior on social media and the impact on free speech. Additional topics include combating illegal content, data access, and privacy concerns.
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Social Media's Regulatory Evasion
- Social media companies avoid regulation by presenting their platforms as mere information conduits, not harmful products.
- This allows them to evade regulations applied to industries like tobacco or pharmaceuticals, impacting consumer protection and national security.
Unaccountable Power of Platforms
- Unaccountable private power is a key challenge posed by social media platforms.
- Lack of visibility into harmful platform dynamics, like child exploitation content, hinders accountability and oversight.
Information Ecology and Researcher Attacks
- People's online behavior is influenced by their overall information ecology, not just social media alone.
- Researchers act as referees, verifying information about platform operations and influence, but face attacks, hindering their work.