Regulating Facebook: Holding the Social Media Giant Accountable for It’s Unprecedented Influence in Our Democracy and Our Lives 

Voiceover

Presenter(s)

Ricky Abilez

Abstract or Description

Social media sites and applications continue to dominate the internet, serving as an important tool for public discourse and daily business operations. In fact, Pew Research Center found that 70% of BIPOC individuals use social media for public awareness and political participation while 68% of all users cite it as a source for news. However, the costs of social media increasingly outweigh the benefits as major companies further centralize the market, none more so than Facebook. The organization’s monopoly power has caused extensive risks to mental health, political stability, election and homeland security, privacy, and market efficiency. Congress has not imposed new federal regulations on the internet or media companies since 1996. As a result, Facebook’s problematic use of user data and internal algorithms have far surpassed the knowledge and comprehension of the public. 

My research examines the current policy and three alternatives: 1) increased data transparency; 2) federal regulation; 3) reformed anti-trust laws. Five policy goals were used to measure the effectiveness of each alternative: 1) general welfare; 2) security; 3) transparency; 4) efficiency; 5) political feasibility. Though a combination of the three alternatives would be most effective, the analysis suggests that federal regulation is the most feasible stand-alone option. Federal legislation could introduce various rules and regulations that include restricted advertising, increased transparency, youth protection, required health warning signs, prohibited engagement-based ranking, required reporting of dangerous content, reforming Section 230 of The Communications Decency Act, and extensive taxes for noncompliance.