Risk for democracy: Social media feeds harm people's ability to form their own opinions
Social media fees harm people’s ability to form a free and informed opinion. That is contrary to the public interest and a risk for the democratic state, the Dutch Media Authority (CvdM) concluded in a report published on Tuesday, NOS reports.
The report was prompted by a growing concern regarding social media companies’ influence, especially given that more and more Dutch people, especially young people, get their news from platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X.
On these platforms, algorithms determine which posts appear in people’s feeds. Social media companies have a financial interest in distributing primarily eye-catching and controversial content, even if this content is unreliable. Platforms also sometimes “shadowban” certain posts or creators, publishing posts from certain accounts, but showing them to far fewer people without informing the content creators or consumers. At the same time, users have very limited control over what they see in their feeds.
According to the regulatory body, social media companies and their feeds are a demonstrable risk for democracy because they influence what citizens see. According to the CvdM, social media feeds increasingly show people only news that aligns with their own views, contributing to growing problems like division in society and the manipulation of opinions.
These algorithms can also amplify polarizing, extremist, or misleading information, putting the reliability of news reporting under pressure. The rise of AI-generated content also plays a role in this.
CvdM hopes that its warnings in this exploratory report will contribute to better policy, supervision, and regulation to protect the ability to form free and informed opinions online. There is already a great deal of European legislation that offers possibilities for making feeds “healthier,” the CvdM said, urging policymakers to better implement and enforce this legislation.
