About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


16 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 393 (2017-2018)
Systemic Social Media Regulation

handle is hein.journals/dltr16 and id is 378 raw text is: SYSTEMIC SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION FRANK FAGANt ABSTRACT Social media platforms are motivated by profit, corporate image, long-term viability, good citizenship, and a desire for friendly legal environments. These managerial interests stand in contrast to the gubernatorial interests of the state, which include the promotion of free speech, the development of e-commerce, various counter terrorism initiatives, and the discouragement of hate speech. Inasmuch as managerial and gubernatorial interests overlap, a self-regulation model of platform governance should prevail. Inasmuch as they diverge, regulation is desirable when its benefits exceed its costs. An assessment of the benefits and costs of social media regulation should account for how social facts, norms, and falsehoods proliferate. This Article sketches a basic economic model. What emerges from the analysis is that the quality of discourse cannot be controlled through suppression of content, or even disclosure of source. A better approach is to modify, in a manner conducive to discursive excellence, the structure of the forum. Optimal platform architecture should aim to reduce the systemic externalities generated by the social interactions that they enable, including the social costs of unlawful interference in elections and the proliferation of hate speech. Simultaneously, a systemic approach to social media regulation implies fewer controls on user behavior and content creation, and attendant First Amendment complications. Several examples are explored, including algorithmic newsfeeds, online advertising, and invited campus speakers. I. INTRODUCTION Recently, during the ongoing wave of sexual assault claims involving celebrities, newscasters, politicians, and high-profile Hollywood employers, NPR's All Things Considered ran a segment entitled, Women Are Speaking Up About Abuse, But Why Now?' Why now is a good question. Sexual harassment has only been recognized as an T Associate Professor of Law, EDHEC Business School, France. The author would like to thank Saul Levmore for comments. 1All Things Considered. Women Are Speaking UpAboutAbuse, but Why Now? NAT'L. PUB. RADIo (Oct. 27, 2017), https://www.npr.org/2017/1O/27/ 560231232/women-are-speaking-up-about-harassment-and-abuse-but-why-now.