3 moves the US government could make to rein in Facebook
Let users control more of their data
Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University
Social media sites like Facebook are designed for constant interaction to engage users’ attention. To rein in Facebook, lawmakers must first understandthe harm that results from algorithmic manipulationon these platforms. One thing Congress could do is make sure Facebook gives users more control over what data the company collects about them and why.
Most people who use Facebookare unawareof how algorithmic recommendations affect their experience of the platform and thereby the information they engage with. For example,political campaigns have reportedly tried to manipulate engagementto get more traction on Facebook.
A key aspect of providing such transparency is giving users greater access to and control over their data, similar to what’s proposed in California’sConsumer Privacy Act. This would allow users to see what personal data Facebook collects about them and how the company uses it. Many people don’t realize that Meta has the ability to make inferences about theirpolitical preferencesandattitudes toward society.
A related issue isdata portability tools and rightsthat allow users to take the data, including photos and videos, that they shared on Facebook to other social media services.
Providing users with more control over their data will go a long way in ensuring independent accountability and oversight of Facebook’s operations.
Mandating transparency
Ryan Calo, Professor of Law, University of Washington
In October 2020, Facebook sent acease-and-desist letter to New York University researchers. The researchers were investigating the spread of misinformation on Facebook through political ads. The company told NYU that scraping its platform violated Facebook’s terms of service, and it threatened “additional enforcement action” should the practice continue. In August 2021, Facebookterminated the accounts of two researchersand cut off NYU’s and its partners’ access to its political ad repository.
Companies like Meta arenot exactly forthcoming about the problemson their platforms. The public hears about issues like misinformation and bias largely through the efforts of researchers, journalists, and internal whistleblowers.
Congress holds the power to stay Meta’s hand when it comes to threatening legal action or blocking accountability research. Congress could, for example, add a research exemption to theComputer Fraud and Abuse Act, which would shield researchers from the threat of lawsuits for using data not explicitly authorized by a social media company, or protect employees from retaliation.
Congress could go further still: It could mandate transparency. Nothing about free speech doctrine or platform immunity prohibits the government from imposing auditing or reporting requirements for social media. The Federal Reserve embeds regulators in national banks.
Why shouldn’t Meta — a company with aUS$900 billion market capitalizationand ambitions to spawn ametaverse— have to open its operations to scrutiny?
An alternative approach to making Meta pay
Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of Global Business, The Fletcher School, Tufts University
I have a pragmatic suggestion for what the government might do about Meta.
When New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoorecently posed this questionto experts, they came back with numerous solutions. Ultimately, Manjoo concluded that with the deep political divide in Congress, “doing nothing may be the likeliest outcome.”
I, too, agree it’s the most plausible scenario. Nevertheless, one fact is incontrovertible: Meta is under pressure right now, and the government can use this leverage to extract immediate benefits for society regardless of what happens down the road.
There is a larger problem than big tech’s lack of accountability:Almost half of all Americanscannot use the internet at broadband speeds. This is unacceptable in a post-pandemic world, where high-speed internet has proved essential. Broadband internet is also unaffordable for many.
Even the $65 billion earmarked for broadband in theinfrastructure billjust approved by Congress isn’t enough to close America’s vast digital divide. My Digital Planet research team at Tufts has estimated that the true cost ofclosing the infrastructure access gap is $240 billion– leaving a $175 billion shortfall.
Lawmakers could use the stick of regulation to get the company to agree to blanket the nation with broadband. Meta already has two programs it could use to close gaps in bothruralandurbanareas.
At the same time, Congress could levy atech taxon digital ads sold by Facebook and other social networks to subsidize telecommunication services in high-cost areas.
By giving more people access to high-speed internet, Meta will benefit by increasing the number of people who could eventually joinits metaverse. While that may seem counterproductive, the ills of Facebook are outweighed by the greater ills of large swaths of the U.S. with people unable to use the internet for essential services because we couldn’t raise enough money to close the gap.
Article byAnjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems,Michigan State University;Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of Global Business, The Fletcher School,Tufts University, andRyan Calo, Professor of Law,University of Washington
This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
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