Remediating social media

 Area 1; Fear of a monopoly. This is not a new idea when it comes to conglomerates that are dominating areas of technology. However, it seems that this is the way of things; companies are absorbed, mergers happen, takeovers abound. Just recently, Sprint merged with T-Mobile, adding to the collective holdings of both and lining the pockets of the brass. As these large Internet companies and platforms are, there is reason for concern. It has been shown that narratives can be highly influenced by creating bottlenecks driven by the documented interests of the user, thereby narrowing the overall view of the media coming their way. What to do? Regulations? Is it time to invoke antitrust laws? It is quite an interesting time, as there has been no other time where some of the parties of interest, namely social media companies, were almost unwitting in their involvement. It was never the initial intent of them to be a place where so many people would be so receptive to media outlets that intentionally fabricated salacious or heavily biased content in order to produce revenue. I think that this is the way of things, and it would continue to be so until the people using these informational platforms decide that they have more control over what happens with them, mostly by not using them. It is not impossible to build new sites, apps, or even networks.

Area 2; The futility of "free speech". The premise of free speech is not something that is the primary concern of these large companies. Their primary concern is their own bottom line. While there may be some response initially when there is some kind of palpable public outrage, they may respond in a symbolic way that placates their detractors enough to move on. Ultimately, I do think that it's a positive step that social media companies are taking steps to limit and identify fraudulent or dangerous information. I would, however, think it would be far more prudent for people to remember that ultimately, they are solely responsible for the information that they choose to believe. It would be much more productive for people to verify their own sources; to always question the veracity of what is presented to them. This should not be about just the news or information, but also the systems we place our trust in which ultimately effect aspects of our lives. It is not any company that can act to suppress our freedom of speech; that's much more likely to be accomplished under the threat of armed men.