Vast powers concentrated within the fingers of some companies, the unfold of pretend info and information, threats to privateness, election course of and democracy had been a few of the key points researchers, policymakers, and customers within the US underscored concerning the social media ecosystem lately. The Social Media Summit at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had consultants who mentioned not simply points but additionally a variety of potential options. The 17-page report discusses intimately all the problems regarding social media and their options.

Here are just a few highlights from the MIT report:

Fake News And Misinformation

Did you already know {that a} study discovered that pretend information and false info travelled “farther, quicker, deeper, and extra broadly than the reality?” Not just that, such information is also 70 percent more likely to be retweeted as compared to the truth. It’s further aided by social media algorithms. Clint Watts, a research fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute, suggested one of the ways to address this is to crack down on prolific offenders. “We know about them, and [enforcement] needs to focus there for maximum impact,” Watts said.  

User Privacy And Platform Transparency Balance

MIT Sloan professor Sinan Aral, who led the event, said that social media poses a “transparency paradox.” And therefore she added that not just researchers but even the public had the right to know how these platforms were accessing and using our data. Kate Starbird, an associate professor at the University of Washington, said that algorithmic transparency, that allows researchers to examine peer-to-peer information sharing without sharing personal information would enable greater understanding about malicious use and how to prevent it. 

Regulations

Independent oversight is a necessity, said Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs at Facebook, adding the world was way beyond the debate of whether or not we needed new rules. He, however, isn’t in favour of different rules for different parts of the world. This, Clegg said, may “balkanise” the Internet and subsequently the US and EU wanted to work collectively and convey India into the fold.

Business Model Is Not User Friendly

The social media mannequin, consultants stated, is designed on consideration economic system, which means the platforms promote your consideration to the advertisers, including what will get consideration is not all the time good for customers or the society at giant. Hence, a revision of the enterprise fashions in a method that takes it from the eye economic system might assist. Scott Galloway, an adjunct professor of selling at New York University, urged subscription-based fashions, untied to promoting, could possibly be another. The concern, although, is what if the most effective, fact-checked info is all the time behind the paywall. 

Algorithms additional bias, racism, and polarisation

Safiya Noble, the co-founder of the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry at UCLA, stated that folks organise and entry info by means of social media platforms and search engines like google. However, she famous that firms operating these platforms aren’t all the time ruled by the ideas of democracy and human rights and typically the most well-liked, worthwhile speech promotes racism, misinformation, and polarisation.

Renée Richardson Gosline, a principal analysis scientist at MIT Sloan, stated that part of the issue is frictionless techniques that permit customers to simply retweet and share this sort of info.